FRAGMENTS 



FROM THE 



KINO'S TABLE 

HUMPHREY 




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FRAGMENTS FROM THE 
KING'S TABLE 



Fragments from the 
King's Table 




By 
jrM. HUMPHREY 



^^ Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing he 
lost" {John 6: 12) 



TBUE GOSPEL GRAIN PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1118 West Speing Stkeet 

LIMA, OHIO 

1915 



-p 






COPYBIGHT 1915 
BY 

J. M. HUMPHREY 



PRINTED BY 

THE FREE METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE 

CHICAGO 



^^ 



JU^31 1915 



A4()6992 



DEDICATION 



This Book is affectionately dedicated to 
my precious parents 

JERRY M, HUMPHREY 

and 
MARY P, HUMPHREY 

who have long since gone to their 
eternal reward 









% CONTENTS 

Chapter Page 

Introduction y ^ 9 

A Fragment of Experience 11 

I.— rThe Two Voices / ., 17 

II. — The Sun of Righteousness 20 

III.— Where Two Ways Met 23 

IV. — Jonah in the^oat. 25 

V. — Found Wanting 29 

Vl.-^Unbelief 33 

VII. — The March Around Jericho 38 

VIII.— Man's Soul 43 

IX. — ^A Tonic For Backsliders 47 

X.— Rebuilding the Wall 51 

XI.— The Burning Bush 55 

XII.— A Seemingly Right Way 58 

XIII.— A Bundle of "Do Nots" 62 

XIV.— The Altar Pledge 68 

XV.— Unfailing Wealth 69 

XVI.— Lost 74 

XVII.— Holiness 80 

XVIII. — Playing with Conviction 85 

XIX.— Our Place of Privilege 88 

XX. — Four Brands of Holiness 92 

XXI.— The Worm Beneath the Surface 96 

XXII.— New Year Reflections 99 

XXIII.— The Kings in Canaan 100 

XXIV.— The Danger of Partial Surrender 107 

XXV.— Must We Shout 110 

XXVI.— The Great Preparation 113 

XXVII.— Gray Hairs 119 

XXVIII.— What God Hath Done 122 

XXIX. — Seven Arguments Against Suicide 126 

XXX.— Being Subdued 139 

XXXI.— The Works of Time 142 

XXXII.— Close Class-meeting 144 

7 



8 CONTENTS 



XXXIII.— God and Mammon 148 

XXXIV.— Blind Bartimeus 151 

XXXV.— "The Shekinah" ^ 155 

XXXVI.— Human Woe 162 

XXXVII.— How to Distribute Tracts 167 

XXXVIII.— Hints to Gospel Workers 171 

XXXIX.— How to Instruct Seekers 174 

XL. — The Urim and Thummim 178 

XLI. — Taking the Lord's Supper Unworthily 184 

XLIL— The Value of Dreams 186 

XLIIL— What to do When Tempted 189 

XLIV.— How to Fast to the Best Advantage 191 

XLV. — Suggestions for the Open- Air Meeting 194 

XLVL— How to Get to Church on Time 196 

XL VII.— Aaron's Rod 198 

XLVIIL— The State of an Extremely Spiritual Man. . 202 
XLIX.— A Soul at Heaven's Gate 210 



INTEODUOTION 

When servants in the southland work for people 
of wealth they are frequently given permission to 
take home the table fragments. Often these frag- 
ments form quite a mixture, being made up of the 
remains of breakfast, dinner and supper. This being 
the case, the collection sometimes consists of many 
of the following things : Ham, fish, chicken, oysters, 
pancakes, cucumbers, potatoes, pudding, pickle, pie, 
salad, peas, beets and cake. Strange as it may ap- 
pear to the reader, this variety is usually carried 
home by the servant in two pans. 

About twenty years ago, the writer entered into 
the service of a wealthy King, whose name is 
^'Jehovah." This King furnishes the finest table of 
any one in all the land ; hence, after meals are served, 
there always remains an abundance of fragments, 
which the writer is permitted to bring to the reader. 
I, therefore, here present a portion of them in this 
volume. 

Of course, dear one, you can not expect a large 
amount of any one thing, neither should you be em- 
barrassed over the fact that the meat, cake, pickle, 
eggs, berries, hash, sardines and ice-cream are all 
on the same platter. I am sure, however, they will 
satiate hunger ; besides, I hope they will also make 
you "Strong in the Lord and in the power of His 

might." J. M. H. 

April, 1915 

61 



A FEAGMENT OF EXPEKIENCE 

In eighteen hundred seventy-two, 

In June, when all the buds were new ; 

When shrubs and trees were draped in green 

And tinted with a golden sheen ; 

When fields were filled with nectar sweet ; 

When bees did rove in bliss complete, 

And Zephyr's viewless, fragrant hand 

Brought many a sweet from sea and land; 

One Sabbath morning, just at dawn. 

Ere all the gloom of night had gone, 

From cabin-hut with rooms but two, 

Beneath a willow wet with dew. 

Came words of gladness on the air 

From earnest hearts assembled there. 

A new man-child in time had 'woke ! 

Such rapture all the silence broke! 

They gathered 'round the red-clay hearth 

To greet the babe of lowly birth : 

The sun arose with glory bright 

And looked that way with great delight ; 

The morning larks sang in the tree, 

While all the neighbors came to see. 

It is somewhat contrary to the custom of the 
writer to say anything of himself; however, at this 
time, I feel impressed by the Spirit to give the reader 
a fragment of my experience, with the sincere hope 
that God may in some way make it a blessing. 

I will begin by saying, as far as memory serves 
me, I was under conviction every moment of my life 
since I was seven years of age. It is true, I was a 
very wicked lad up until the time of my conversion ; 

u 



12 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KINO'S TABLE 

notwithstanding that fact, I was under conviction 
all the time and everywhere I went. Frequently, 
while in the ballrooms and gambling-dens, the spirit 
of prayer would come upon me and I could not take 
part in what was going on, but cried to God in secret 
to forgive my sins. Everything in nature seemed 
daily to remind me of God, eternity, heaven and hell. 
The golden sun, the silver moon and all the twin- 
kling stars seemed to have a resistless message for 
me ; also the musing winds, the murmuring streams, 
the singing birds, the evergreen trees and the solitary 
graveyards. 

Often when I wanted to do some mischievous act, 
I had to perform it quickly in order to get ahead of 
the monitor within. Strange as it may appear, I 
prayed nearly all the time, and the thought of God 
and eternity stood before me night and day. I at- 
tended almost every revival that was within my 
reach and frequently went to the altar as a seeker, 
but failed to get through for the following reasons: 
First. I did not utterly renounce sin and the world. 
Second. The altar workers did not know how to in- 
struct a seeking soul. Almost as soon as I reached 
the altar, they began telling me first one thing and 
then another. One said, "Give up," but did not tell me 
what to give up. Another said, "Believe," but did 
not tell me how or what to believe. Finally, one 
night in a popular church in the city of Chicago, 
after going to the altar for a whole week, I was per- 
suaded by a company of superficial professors of re- 
ligion to believe I was saved, without ever feeling 
the burden of sin roll away, without realizing any 



A FRAGMENT OF EXPERIENCE 13 

change of heart or obtaining any witness whatever. 
They clapped their hands and sang such songs as, 
''I can, and I will, and I do believe," "He takes me as 
I am,'' and "Jesus paid it all," but no fire fell. My 
heart was as dark and cold as it was before I ever 
prayed a single prayer. However, I accepted this 
for religion and tried to make my heart believe it 
was; but in spite of all my plausible arguments, my 
heart looked up into my face and said, "This is not 
the old-time, heartfelt religion that your father en- 
joyed and told about." Kegardless of its strong pro- 
test, I joined the church, was baptized and became 
a zealous church worker. I attended all of the 
services, paid my dues, prayed, testified, visited the 
sick, gave to the poor and was also an assistant class- 
leader, but my soul (from a spiritual standpoint) 
was dead as a stone. When I saw the older Chris- 
tians shouting, weeping and praising God, my heart 
would again say to me, "I told you that you did not 
have the old-time religion that makes soul and body 
happy." And so it was, for, notwithstanding the 
other people's shouting and rejoicing, I did not feel 
any more of what they felt and enjoyed than a man 
who had died a hundred years before. However, by 
and by, I was fully convinced of the fact that I was 
not saved, but was simply an empty, dry professor 
of religion. This caused me to earnestly seek the 
Lord, day and night. One evening, while in a mis- 
sion, lifting my voice to God in earnest prayer, the 
windows of heaven fiew open and a landslide of 
glory dropped into my soul. I was so filled and so 
thrilled with glory that as I went home I seemed 



14 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

to walk six feet above the ground. A few days later 
I received such an overwhelming blessing that the 
room seemed to be on fire. Then the superficial, re- 
ligious teachers told me that the blessing which I 
had received was sanctification, so they persuaded 
me to attend a shallow holiness meeting where I 
claimed and testified to holiness. Thus I became one 
of their prominent workers. About this time it 
pleased God to put into my hands a copy of ''Wes- 
ley's Plain Account of Christian Perfection," and 
also some other books that treated on genuine spiri- 
tual holiness. I was also invited by a friend to a 
little meeting where the people had the genuine 
article, and while attending this meeting, the light 
shone upon my heart why I needed holiness. If the 
people had told me that I needed holiness to make 
me happy and give me joy, I would have told them 
that I already had it, for I had all the joy I could 
handle and was as happy as a man could be and yet 
live. I got blessed in every kind of meeting I attended, 
even in official meetings. But I noticed when these 
people testified they spoke of how God had taken the 
uprisings of anger, jealousy, impatience, prejudice, 
pride, etc., out of their hearts, and no matter how 
things went or how their wills were crossed, they 
never felt the least stir. I had joy but I could not 
say that, for quite frequently, when spoken to sharp- 
ly by my employer, I would feel something kink up 
in my soul that made me feel like talking back ; also 
when some brother would be too sociable with wife, 
there was something in my soul that did not feel 
normal but felt tremendously strange. And, when- 



\ 



A FRAGMENT OP EXPERIENCE 15 

ever I gave a good testimony, prayed a good prayer 
or gave a good exhortation, I felt something in me 
that wanted to ask some one if I did well or how it 
sounded. I was quite anxious to have some one 
speak about it. 

These traits and many others convinced me of the 
fact that I still had in me the "old man" and was 
not sanctified ; so I began seeking, by earnest prayer, 
fasting, self-abnegation and faith, for about ten days, 
when suddenly, one beautiful April day (just seven 
months from the day of my conversion), a mighty 
power came upon me from heaven and swept the "old 
man," root and branch, out of my soul and filled me 
with the Holy Ghost. 

From that time I resolved, by the grace of God, 
to be wholly devoted to Him, soul, body and spirit, 
and walk in the clearest light. 

This experience of being cleansed and filled with 
divine light and glory revealed to me my own noth- 
ingness and shallowness, until finally a mighty spirit 
of prayer came upon me in which I prayed for six 
months, ^'Take me down deeper that I may magnify 
thy grace/' During this time I ate nothing except 
bread and water, and lay prostrate before God in 
prayer for three months, without going to bed a 
single time. The blessed Spirit seemed to hold me 
under such strict discipline and gave me such union 
with heaven that I found it difficult to live in the 
world. 

It is true, I have made many a blunder and 
grievous mistake, for all of which I humbly ask the 
human family to forgive me, but at all times my in- 



16 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

tentions and purposes were to please God in the 
highest sense and walk in the narrowest of the nar- 
row way that leads to the gates of pearl. 

Before closing this chapter, I feel it my duty to 
mention the fact that God made the sermons of Elder 
F. D. Brooke, Elder H. O. Hubbard and Elder E. E. 
Shelhamer a great blessing to my soul. A short while 
after my conversion, I came in touch with these 
Spirit-filled men. Under the anointing of the Holy 
Ghost, they so bombarded my soul with gospel shot 
and shell that it made me feel that the judgment day 
had come, and that I was being weighed in the scales 
of eternity and was found miserably wanting. 



CHAPTER I 

THE TWO VOICES 

"God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye 
touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, 
Ye shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:3, 4). 

Here we have the first record of mankind being 
addressed by the second voice. In the preceding 
chapters we read of the works and dealings of God 
only, but here a second party seems to appear on 
the scene. 

Now, we who are Christians know perfectly well 
what it means to be addressed by the two voices, one 
saying, "Do this," and the other saying, "Do that;" 
one saying, "You are saved," the other saying, "You 
are not;" one saying, "You are healed," the other, 
"You are not." 

It can readily be seen by every careful observer 
that this is one of the most difficult points in the life 
of a child of God for two reasons: First. Because 
many times we may accept a message from satan, 
thinking it to be from God, and on the other hand 
reject the voice of God, supposing it to be the voice 
of satan. A second reason that this is such a diffi- 
cult point, is because these voices prompt us to 
action. Oh, how many hundreds of precious, con- 
scientious souls have lost their way at this point 
and gone off into error and fanaticism, thinking 
they were led of God ! 

17 



18 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

My object in this chapter is to give a little in- 
formation on how to determine between the two 
voices. I believe it can be safely done by complying 
with the following rules: 

1. The first way of determining between the 
two voices is this: The voice of God will not cross 
or contradict His written Word; therefore, any im- 
pression or leading that comes to us which does 
not harmonize with the doctrine of the Bible, is not 
from God but from the enemy of all righteousness. 

2. A second way we can determine between the 
two is, when God speaks and we obey (no matter 
how heavy the cross may be) it will produce satis- 
faction and soul rest; but on the other hand, if it 
be the voice of satan, it will produce dissatisfaction, 
uneasiness and fear. 

3. The voice of God leads us to more self-denial 
and Christlikeness, but the voice of satan is always 
in favor of the flesh and tends to ease up on self and 
the "old man." The voice of God often says to peo- 
ple, "Give five dollars or two dollars or one dollar 
in the offering ;" but the after voice says, "Give less." 
The voice of God says, "Fast and pray to-day;" but 
the after voice says, "Eat to-day and fast to-morrow." 

4. When a leading or impression is from God and 
we are slow in getting His thought or do not readily 
understand Him, He will use other methods to make 
it clear to us or He will allow us to test the thing on 
another line; but when satan^s suggestions are not 
immediately carried out, he instantly sets in accus- 
ing, condemning and consigning us to hell. 

5. In matters of great concern, God's counsel 



THE TWO VOICES 19 

and will are to be sought by earnest prayer and fast- 
ing, for many times satan imitates God's voice and 
tells us to ^'go forward'' when we should stand still. 
"Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that 
take counsel, but not of me" (Isa. 30: 1). 

6. Whenever God's Word is clear and explicit on 
a matter, He does not want us to pray over it that 
we might obtain His consent to go to the contrary. 
When we do this, we open the door for satan to come 
in and mislead us. If the Word says, "Thou shalt 
not steal," "Be ye holy," "Be not unequally yoked," 
etc., it means just what it says. 

7. If we become anxious to pursue a course or 
carry out a plan before praying over it and obtain- 
ing God's thought, this anxiety will make it diffi- 
cult for us to hear from Him, for the simple reason 
we are so anxious He should say "Yes," that it 
closes our ears to His "No." 



CHAPTEE II 

THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 

"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Right- 
eousness arise with healing in His wings" (Mai. 4:2). 

In order that men might, to some extent, realize 
the inexhaustible wealth and blessings contained in 
Jesus Christ, God has used the strongest language, 
the most striking illustrations, the rarest gems and 
the most beautiful objects in the world to describe 
Him. In one place He is called "The Bread of Life ;" 
in another the "Water of Life," "Balm of Gilead," 
the "Rose of Sharon," the "Pearl of Great Price," 
the "Rock of Ages," and the "Morning Star;" but 
here, in our text, the Holy Ghost compares Him 
to the sun, meaning that Christ is to the spiritual 
world what the sun is to the material world. 

If we modernize the words of the text they would 
read as follows : "But unto you that fear my name 
shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in 
His rays." Let us briefly observe some of the ways in 
which the sun resembles Jesus Christ, the Redeemer 
of the world. 

First. It disperses darkness and gloom; just so 
does the Sun of Righteousness. How well do we all 
remember when our hearts were wrapped in the night 
of doubt, fear, ignorance and chaotic remorse, and 
the Sun of Righteousness shown in with healing 
in His rays; and all doubt, fear and sadness fled 

so 



THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 21 

away, and our night was turned into perfect day. 
Oh, hallelujah ! 

Second. The sun not only chases away the dark- 
ness, but also reveals and exposes. We have all no- 
ticed a small sun-ray from the window, how it re- 
vealed millions of flying atoms that were not ob- 
served in the room before. We are also reminded 
how the hot sun-rays in springtime awaken every- 
thing, and cause the ants, beetles, spiders, lizards, 
ground-puppies and snakes to leave their winter 
quarters in the earth and come forth in response to 
the "king of day.'' Just so do the penetrating rays 
of truth from the Sun of Righteousness reveal the 
insects of hidden crime, unconfessed sins, ill will, 
deceit and a thousand other scorpion-headed reptiles 
of hell. 

A third way in which the sun resembles Jesus 
Christ, is in the way it dawns upon us. It does not 
jump immediately to midday and meridian blaze, but 
dawns upon us gently and gradually. What saith 
the scriptures, "Then shall thy light break forth as 
the morning" (Isa. 58: 8). "I have yet many things 
to say unto you, but ye can not bear them now" (John 
16: 12). If, in the beginning, the Lord would tell us 
all He would have us do or show us all He would 
have us give up or all the lessons He would have us 
learn, we would become utterly discouraged and turn 
from the way ; therefore. He shows us only one thing 
at a time. 

Another way in which the sun greatly resembles 
the Sun of Righteousness, is in the fact that it thaws, 
melts and causes things to run together. When the 



22 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

Sun of Eighteousness casts its torrid glare upon a 
soul, it causes its icebergs of false modesty, stiffness, 
timidity, evil-shame, bigotry and sectarianism to dis- 
appear. It also causes those who were once stiff and 
proud, to run, leap, weep, rejoice and praise God. 
Isa. 12 : 6. 

There is yet another way in which the sun is like 
unto the Sun of Eighteousness in that it causes ani- 
mals and insects to molt and shed. We have noticed 
in the springtime, after the sun crosses the equator 
and casts its torrid smile upon the earth, how the 
beasts of the field, and even mankind, begin to shed 
their winter robes. So it is, when the beaming rays 
of the Sun of Eighteousness shine upon our souls, 
they make us shed all slang, bywords, unclean habits, 
carnal associates, false ideas, unsanctified ambitions, 
jewelry, feathers, flowers, and all needless adorn- 
ment. 1 Tim. 2 : 9. 

A final way in which the sun resembles Jesus 
Christ, is in the fact that it infuses flavor and fra- 
grance into the fruits and flowers. We have all, no 
doubt, noticed how rapidly that newly-saved or sanc- 
tified soul developed in love, joy, peace, long-suffer- 
ing, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and tem- 
perance, beneath the meridian blaze of the unsetting 
Sun of Eighteousness. 



CHAPTER III 

WHERE TWO WAYS MET 

"And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the 
door without in a place where two ways met" (Mark 11 : 4). 

Our text describes in brief the place where the 
disciples found the colt; however, it has a powerful 
significance when applied to right and wrong. Every 
man and woman in the world, one day, somewhere, 
arrived at the point where the road of childhood in- 
nocence divided into two paths. It may have been 
at a revival, a camp-meeting, a death-bed scene or a 
funeral; however, we have all reached the point 
where, assisted by the power of choice, we have 
started for heaven or hell, and this very hour finds us 
pressing hard on the way. Let us now notice a few 
valuable thoughts about these two ways : 

1. They lead in opposite directions, one toward 
heaven and the other toward hell. We know not of 
a more striking picture of this than the elevators, 
seen in most department stores in Chicago and New 
York, known as ^'moving stairways." We have 
stood and looked at the file of human beings, of every 
age, rank and degree, as one line moved softly and 
uniformly upward while the other file, in like manner, 
moved down, down, down. And the most remarkable 
thing about this "stairway" was, it landed a human 
being up or down every minute. Reader, stop and 
think how rapidly you are gliding to heaven or hell. 

23 



24 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

Some one has said, "The annual death rate of the 
human race is 33,000,000; that is 91,000 a day, 3,700 
every hour, 62 every minute. 

2. The next thought that dawned upon our mind 
regarding these two ways was this: That they are 
never traversed by any human being the second time. 
We have but one chance to win or lose. When the 
poisonous arrow of death overtakes us, all will be 
over. ''Careless soul, what then?" 

3. A third thought connected with these roads 
is as follows : One way admits all classes of people, 
all grades of sin and all forms of idolatry; but the 
other admits only a select few, namely, the "pure in 
heart,'^ "the holy," "the undefiled," those who are 
without "spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but 
* * * holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27). 

4. One of these ways is strewn with the faded 
leaves of sadness, sorrow, disappointment and 
blasted hope ; while the other is strewn with fadeless 
flowers of peace, joy, prosperity and endless bliss. 

5. Another thought regarding the downward 
road is this : It has a line beyond which there is no 
hope, no possibility of ever being recovered. It is a 
point beyond the reach of "redeeming love." 

The last noticeable feature about the two ways 
is where they end. One leads to a city upon whose 
blissful shore falls no shadow, rests no stain ; where 
the wicked cease to trouble and the weary are at 
rest ; where the sun never sets, where the leaves never 
fade. While the other leads down, down, down to 
the land of overshadowing death, "where their worm 
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9 : 44) . 



CHAPTEE IV 

JONAH IN THE BOAT 

"The men rowed hard to bring it to land ; but they could 
not" (Jonah 1:13). 

Here we have a striking resemblance of a justified 
Christian trying to make progress in the divine life 
with the "old man" on board. We readily under- 
stand what the poet meant when he penned the fol- 
lowing lines : 

"Oh ! the vileness and the darl^ness 

Of this sinful heart of mine ; 
With the light upon me shining, 

Make, oh ! make my heart like thine. 

"Oh ! the pangs of hell within me, 

Oh! the strivings to be free; 
But the strong man, stronger dying, 

Rends my heart, opposing thee." 

Let us notice in brief some of the many ways in 
which Jonah and his boat experience resemble the 
experience of an unsanctified Christian. 

1. It is first seen in the external arrangement 
and condition of the boat. From every external 
standpoint the boat was in perfect running order. 
Doubtless, there were no torn sails, no broken masts, 
no disabled machinery and no leakage. Everything 
was perfectly whole. Just so it is with the justified 
Christian ; his life is clean, his walk is straight, his 

25 



26 FEAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

conversation godly, and his whole demeanor Christ- 
like. The doctrine afloat in the land to-dav, which 
teaches that it takes sanctification to keep a soul 
from going into forbidden paths, from scolding, lying, 
cheating, etc., is a rank error. The Word sayeth, ''He 
that abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, 
even as He walked" (1 John 2:6). 

2. Notwithstanding the ship and its machinery 
being in perfect running order, it became noticeable 
that something was impeding the progress. Just so 
it is with the soul who still has carnality aboard. 
Notwithstanding their circumspect walk, blameless 
life, chaste conversation and frequent seasons of 
shouting and rejoicing, it will be visible to deeply 
spiritual people that something is preventing growth 
and dwarfing the soul. 

3. The next thing that strikingly reminds us of 
a justified soul with carnality aboard, is seen in the 
conduct of the sailors when they began throwing off 
the cargo into the sea. The thought is this : They be- 
gan to work at the wrong thing. Do we not see this 
repeated over and over again at revivals and camp- 
meetings by those seeking a clean heart? Some try 
to get rid of the "old man" by singing, others by mere 
conversation, others by seeking tongues, others by 
making vows and resolutions ; while others try to dis- 
lodge him with a dry, witnessless, "Believe^ believe/' 
but they fail for the following reason : They do not 
dig down and bombard heaven like the disciples of 
old, with prayer, fasting and faith, until the fire 
falls and crucifies the "old man" and fills the soul 
with God. 



JONAH IN THE BOAT 27 

4. The whole trouble was away down in the hull 
of the boat. So it is with the justified Christian ; his 
trouble is down in the chamber of his heart, where 
anger, pride, jealousy, envy, prejudice, unbelief and 
impatience lodge. Therefore, nothing can reach his 
case but the all-atoning blood of the Son of God. 

5. They tried hard to make the landing without 
unloading Jonah, but it was an utter impossibility. 
There are people who go on for years trying to get 
to heaven without being sanctified, but they can 
never do it after the light of holiness has once shone 
upon them. Therefore, reader, if this is your ex- 
perience, you might as well stop this moment and 
cry mightily to God to unload the Jonah of carnality 
out of your heart before he wrecks your bark forever. 

6. It was no piece-meal affair or variety of 
things that was impeding the progress of the boat, 
but it was a ''unit" — a one thing. So is carnality; 
it does not go nor come by piece-meal, neither does it 
go nor come in sections. We are either cleansed from 
every trait of carnality or in possession of every trait 
of carnality. It does not go on the "installment 
plan." If we are conscious of one remaining trait, 
we can rest assured that they are all there. 

7. Jonah had to be dealt with without partiality 
or sympathy. We can never tease, pet or humor the 
"old man" out, neither can we handle him with kid 
gloves, rose water or talcum powder, but are com- 
pelled to use the crown of thorns, the hammer, nails, 
cross and soldier's spear. Let us notice a few things 
that took place after Jonah's overthrow. 

The first thing we notice, according to vers* fif- 



28 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

teen, is, the sea immediately became calm and placid. 
So does every justified soul who gets the Jonah of 
carnality thrown overboard ; he instantly receives an 
ocean of bottomless, shoreless, waveless peace. 

Second. The people on board immediately began 
to offer sacrifice to the God of heaven. Whenever 
souls get rid of carnality and get filled with the 
Holy Ghost, their lives become one unbroken stream 
of praise and devotion to God. 

Third. They began to make vows. When the peo- 
ple get the real thing, they are so anxious to please 
God that they are willing to do more than He re- 
quires of them. 



CHAPTER V 

FOUND WANTING 

"Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting" 
(Dan. 5:27). 

We have here in this lesson a man being weighed, 
during his last night upon earth, by God Almighty. 
Oh, who would like to be in this man's shoes ? Think ! 
Opportunities all gone ; mercy and pardon all gone ; 
the day of repentance gone; and he facing the 
end, and at this trying hour is found wanting. 
Reader, what will your end be ? Your path may now 
be strewn with the flowers of worldly pleasure, and 
lighted by the sun of success, but how will it end? 
Notice a few things with which this man was well 
supplied : 1. He had wealth in abundance ; yea, he had 
piled up gold as the dust, and silver as the sand of 
the sea. 2. He had talent and ability ; doubtless he 
was well versed in all the knowledge of his day. 3. 
He had prestige and power ; he was a great Chaldean 
ruler, and swayed his scepter over provinces far and 
near. 4. He had pleasure and friends in great abun- 
dance; even on the night of his death he was being 
entertained by a thousand of his lords and a multi- 
tude of friends, at a great banquet. The question 
may arise, in what was this great man tvanting f For 
as we weigh him up, from a human standpoint, he 
had more than he needed. But the difl3culty will 
vanish when we observe from what standpoint he 

29 



30 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

was being weighed. Notice, he was not being 
weighed from man's or time's standpoint, but from 
the standpoint of eternity ^ where all shadows are 
past, and all is reality ; where the phantoms of earth, 
such as wealthy pleasure^ fame, prestige, and power 
are all vanished, and nothing counts but holiness of 
heart. Hence, it is easy to see in what sense he was 
wanting, when we look at the matter from that view- 
point. 

Let us observe a few things in which he was 
wanting: 

1. He lacked a clear conscience, without which 
all death-beds are miserable. This man had been a 
great sinner against God. Besides being a drunk- 
ard, an idolater and a profligate, he had taken the 
sacred vessels of gold from the house of the Lord to 
serve wine to his ungodly friends ; hence, all of these 
heinous crimes stood before him, while his conscience 
smote him with terror. Ah, my reader! You may 
refuse to confess and forsake your sins now, and 
press your way on through life with the crowd, but 
bear this in mind, unless you confess and forsake 
them all, and get forgiven before you get to your 
death-bed, you will have an awful time dying with a 
tad conscience. We once saw a soul, with a bad con- 
science, on the brink of death, and it was truly one of 
the most forlorn, distressful-looking creatures we 
have ever seen upon earth. Oh, friend ! at any cost, 
obtain a good conscience before you reach your death- 
bed, even if you have to make the most awful confes- 
sion, or pay out the last dollar in making restitution. 
Do it; it may seem a great cross now, but it will 



FOUND WANTING 31 



bring great joy in the dying hour when you are facing 
eternity. 

2. He was wanting in courage and fortitude. 
How bold, brassy and defying unsaved men and wo- 
men are while in health and no danger is in sight. 
But on their death-beds, all of their views change, 
and they become as tame as lambs, and are willing 
to have a dog come in and pray with them, if it were 
possible. Tom Payne, with all of his skeptical views, 
cried out in the dying hour, ''My God ! My God ! Why 
hast thou forsaken me?" He felt so lonely, empty 
and forsaken, that he said to his nurse (in sub- 
stance), ''Don't leave me; let even a child stay in the 
room with me, it is hell to 'be alone." Keader, this 
is coming to your door unless you flee for refuge in 
a Savior's love. 

3. This man was wanting the favor of God, Ke- 
member, no matter what else you may possess, 
whether wealth, honor, beauty, ability or friends, it 
amounts to nothing without the favor of God. Van- 
derbilt, when on his death-bed, found that multiplied 
millions were nothing without the favor of God. 
Charters wanted to give £30,000 to have it proved 
that there was no hell. Mirabeau cried out, when 
on his death-bed, "Give me more laudanum, that I 
may not think of eternity and what is to come." 
Voltaire cried, "I am abandoned by God and man ; I 
shall die and go to hell." These men would have 
given everything to purchase the favor of God, but 
could not. When it was offered to them from youth 
to hoary age, by the Holy Spirit and the ministers, 
they refused until the die w^as cast. And when they 



32 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

did feel their need of it, it was too late. Keader, 
are you following in their steps? 

4. He was wanting in that purity of heart with- 
out which no one can enter heaven. Friend, remem- 
ber God says, ^'without holiness no man shall see the 
Lord." 

This means you as well as it does any one else. 
Remember, every soul that enters heaven must be 
sanctified wholly in this life before he dies. Heb. 
12:14. 

Now, let us improve our opportunities, so that 
when death comes we may not be weighed and found 
wanting. 



CHAPTER VI 

UNBELIEF 

"And He did not many mighty works there because of 
their unbelief" (Matt. 13:58). 

Oh, that every Christian would realize the great 
responsibility that rests upon him! Friend, do you 
realize that we are greatly responsible for the world's 
redemption? Now, Jesus has died for the world's 
redemption, and has risen again and ascended into 
heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the Father. 
But before He left the earth. He gave the church the 
commission : ''Go ye into all the world and preach 
the gospel to every creature." "As thou hast sent 
me into the world, even so have I also sent them into 
the world," etc. Notwithstanding, He promised to 
send the Holy Ghost to work in and through them. 

We now mention a few things for which we are re- 
sponsible. First. For our influence — how we let our 
light shine before men. It is to be remembered, my 
brother, that every action done in this life makes a 
good or an evil impression upon three worlds. Our 
lives are either making angels rejoice or weep, or 
they are making hell glad or filling it with terror. 

Second. We are responsible to God for not con- 
tending with Him by prayer and faith until He 
manifests His power in convicting, converting, sanc- 
tifying and healing people, as He did in early days. 
Jude 1:3; Phil. 1 : 27. We are, in a measure, giv- 

83 



34 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

ing infidels and skeptics room to criticize the Bible 
and God, simply because we do not contend to see 
fulfilled all that it promises. We here quote a few 
of its promises : "And these signs shall follow them 
that believe ; In my name shall they cast out devils ; 
they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take 
up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it 
shall not hurt them ; they shall lay hands on the sick, 
and they shall recover'^ (Mark 16: 16-18). "Nothing 
shall be impossible unto you" (Matt. 17 : 20) . "What 
things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that 
ye receive' them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 
11:24). Nowadays, men are trying to modify these 
passages by saying, they were only for the apostolic 
age. But the Bible says, "All things are possible to 
HIM that believeth." It does not specify any specific 
age. It also says, "The promise is unto you, and to 
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as 
many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2: 39). 
We now get to our text, "Unbelief." 

1. Unbelief is the parent sin, the source of all 
evil, the tap root of all ungodliness. 

2. Unbelief defined, namely, "mistrust," "lack of 
confidence," an existing element of doubt. 

How dare we allow an element to exist in our 
breast that will look up into the face of the great 
God (who is without beginning or ending of days, 
who whirls worlds, suns and systems by His mighty 
power) and say to Him, "I mistrust you ;" "I doubt 
what you say ;" "somehow or other I haven't any con- 
fidence in thee." 

Oh, who would not declare war against this elder 



UNBELIEF 35 



son of perdition, this barefaced monster, this scape- 
goat from the land of overshadowing death ? 

Just think ! Every trait of sin can be suppressed, 
restrained and controlled except unbelief. It disbe- 
lieves, no matter in what position you place it; 
whether in the pulpit or in the pew, whether in 
heaven or in hell, it is the same unbelief. 

We next notice the power of unbelief. Think, it 
Is the only power in earth, heaven or hell, that can 
(so to speak) lay hold of the Arm of Omnipotence 
and forbid it doing "mighty works'' (Matt. 13:58). 

Again, unbelief will hinder the prayers of the 
holiest man ; that is, if there are people in the room 
who are full of unbelief. This is one of the reasons, 
many times, that the sick are not healed, demons are 
not cast out, and souls are not prayed through at the 
altar, owing to people who are full of unbelief stand- 
ing around and looking on. When Jesus went to 
resurrect Jairus' daughter [Mark 5:37], he put all 
the unbelievers out of the room. When Elijah prayed 
for the restoring to life of the widow's son, he took 
him up into a room alone. 1 Kings 17: 19-24. When 
Peter prayed for the restoration to life of Dorcas, 
he put all the people out of the room before he prayed 
[Acts 9:40], because he wanted to get his prayer 
clear through and not be hindered by unbelief in 
other people. 

Next, we notice some results of unbelief. It is 
said that the children of Israel could have made the 
trip from Egypt to Canaan in eleven days, but on 
account of unbelief they wandered in the wilderness 
forty years and, after all, there were only two of the 



36 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

men of war that came out of Egypt and went into 
Canaan, all because of unbelief. Heb. 4 : 11. 

Zacharias was smitten with dumbness six months 
because he did not believe the testimony of the angel. 
Luke 1 : 20. The disciples could not cast the demon 
out of the boy "because of their unbelief" (Matt. 
17:20). (It is to be remembered that only people 
who are sanctified wholly are cleansed from all un- 
belief.) At this time the disciples were not sancti- 
fied wholly and filled with the Holy Ghost. 

We now mention a few fine lines of unbelief. 

First. Limiting God. Psa. 78 : 14. You may 
hear some one praying for God to do some unusual 
thing or something you have never seen before, and 
you feel an element spring up in your heart repelling 
that prayer ; something that says, "That is asking too 
much;" "that is rather extravagant," etc. Friend, 
this is that barefaced "unbelief." Again, when work- 
ers go into certain communities they sometimes 
speak like this: "Well, we need not expect to do 
much here, since all the people around are Catholics," 
or this or that kind of folks, just as if it were any 
harder for God to get a Catholic, a Jew, or a bar- 
barian under conviction than any other person. Oh, 
this polished, high-class, polite "unbelief"! 

Second. Walking by sight. John 20 : 19. Having 
faith only when everything looks favorable ; believing 
they are saved only when they feel good; walking 
only when they can see land; but real faith steps 
when it does not see anything to step upon. 

Third. Discouragement. John 16 : 33. As one 
has w^ell said, "Discouragement is a print of unbelief, 



UNBELIEF 37 



rather than a print of faith." Keal faith never be- 
comes discouraged, but discouragement comes from 
doubt, mistrust and lack of confidence in God. 

Fourth. Worry and uneasiness are also a phase of 
unbelief. Why should I worry when God has prom- 
ised to supply all of my needs? Why should I be 
uneasy when the Almighty God dwells in my breast, 
and a convoy of angels is around me, and all the gov- 
ernment of the great white throne is behind me ? Be- 
sides, every angel in the glory world is in perfect 
readiness to be at my side within the fiftieth part of 
a second^s notice, if need be! 



CHAPTEK VII 

THE MARCH AROUND JERICHO 

"And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and 
go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days 
* * * and the seventh day ye shall compass the city 
seven times" (Josh. 6:3, 4). 

We are told by the Apostle Paul that all scrip- 
ture is profitable for doctrine, etc.; therefore, the 
above text has a spiritual application. This great 
army in the border-land of Canaan is a beautiful 
representation of a company of newly-sanctified 
souls. The seven days that they were commanded 
to march around the wall seem to symbolize the seven 
lessons that sanctified people have to learn at this 
point. These lessons do not treat especially on how 
to get more grace or more power, but teach the secret 
of conquest after sanctification. Many a good, hon- 
est soul has lost the blessing because of the lack of 
proper instruction at this point. Now, for our spe- 
cial edification, allow me to convert these seven days 
into seven lessons and also briefly paraphrase them 
in order. 

Lesson 1. This lesson contains two valuable 
thoughts which every sanctified soul should know at 
this point. First. It teaches us that life is to be lived 
one day at a time. Satan often comes to the newly- 
saved soul and tries to get him to cross the bridge 
before he reaches it, by saying, ^'How will you man- 



THE MARCH AROUND JERICHO 39 

age to live holy every day of your life ? Suppose you 
live fifty years?" But, dear one, you must ever re- 
member that life is to be lived only one day at a time. 
God told Israel to go around the wall once a day for 
the first six days. So, reader, when you have kept 
the victory for the present day, do not worry about 
the next, for God has said, ''As thy day so shall thy 
strength be.'' The second thought contained in the 
lesson is this: The sanctified life is not one of ease 
and indolence, but worky warfare and opposition 
await every holy soul. Our blessed Redeemer was 
the holiest man this world ever knew, and He was 
hounded, slandered and persecuted all the way from 
the cradle to the cross. People sometimes think 
when they get sanctified every one will love and 
esteem them, but it is not so and never was. 

"Must I be carried to the skies 

On flowery beds of ease, 
While others fought to win the prize. 

And sailed through bloody seas? 

"Sure I must fight, if I would reign ; 

Increase my courage, Lord ; 
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain. 

Supported by thy Word." 

Lesson 2. Here we are taught that this is a spiri- 
tual warfare and not to be fought with carnal weap- 
ons. God did not send Israel around Jericho with 
siege-guns and battering-rams. Just so it is when 
we get into the Canaan life, ''The weapons of our 
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to 
the pulling down of strongholds." We are sure to 



40 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

get out of the Spirit whenever we commence to use 
carnal weapons. Paul tells us in the following lines 
what weapons we are to have: "Stand therefore, 
having your loins girt about with truth_, and having 
on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet 
shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 
Above all, taking the shield of faith_, wherewith ye 
shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the 
wicked. And take the helmet of salvation^ and the 
sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God : Pray- 
ing always with all prayer and supplication in the 
Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance 
and supplication for all saints" (Eph. 6:14-18). 

Lesson 3. In this lesson we are taught the in- 
estimable value of Christian unity. There were unity, 
harmony and oneness of purpose throughout this en- 
tire company of men, as they marched with measured 
tread around this doomed city. Oh, that we, as 
Christians, could learn the value of unity ! If we, as 
a church, ever expect apostolic power, we will have 
to return to the landmark of apostolic unity. St. 
Luke tells us, "They were all with one accord" (Acts 
2:1). 

Lesson 4- Here in this lesson our attention is 
called to some of the most vital points in a life of 
holiness, if we would have power with God and man. 
They are as follows : Seriousness, sobriety and holy 
modesty. In verse ten, Joshua said to the people, "Ye 
shall not shout, nor make any noise * * * neither 
shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the 
day I bid you shout." We so many times lose a spiri- 
tual victory by too much talk, laughter, spiritual 



THE MARCH AROUND JERICHO 41 

looseness, etc. The effect of many a good sermon has 
been killed on account of too much lightness and 
funny story-telling on the part of the preacher. 
Truly, if we would have power with God and man, 
we must learn with Solomon the valuable lesson that 
^^In a multitude of words there wanteth not sin.'' 

Lesson 5. Obedience and cooperation with our 
leaders are also very essential in the Canaan life. This 
whole company of people obeyed Joshua to the let- 
ter and in so doing victory was achieved. Nowadays, 
every one wants to be his own boss ; therefore, when 
told by the leader to do this or that, his reply is, "I 
don't feel led ;" "I am not following man," etc. All 
of this is rank anarchy and is sure to bring defeat 
to the army of God. The command, ^'Obey them that 
have the rule over you," found in Heb. 13 : 17, is just 
as binding and as much to be obeyed by the children 
of God as the command, ^^Thou shalt not steal." 

Lesson 6. Here we have an excellent lesson on 
childlike simplicity. Doubtless, it was quite embar- 
rassing to the Israelites to walk around the wall 
every day and blow rams' horns. It looked like 
child's play and foolishness to both themselves and 
the nations around. But what were they to do, for 
God had ordered it? It is the same to-day; when 
God tells us to "Come out from among them," lay 
aside the world, preach, pray, sing and shout, it all 
looks like foolishness ; therefore, it is no marvel that 
the unsaved say, we are insane. Paul said, in 1 Cor. 
4 : 10, "We are fools for Christ's sake." 

Lesson 7. This was the day of difficulties, when 
they were to go around the wall not only once, but 



42 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

also seven times. There are several valuable lessons 
taught here. The first one calls our attention to the 
fact that importunity and perseverance must precede 
all victories. We are not to become disheartened and 
stop because things look discouraging, but we must 
grow more ardent in zeal, more tenacious in faith and 
lion-like in courage. Again, we are taught through this 
lesson that the hardest battle always precedes vic- 
tory, and the darkest hour is just before dawn. Many 
a victory has been lost because the worker became dis- 
couraged and ran away quickly. Often the enemy 
makes the greatest noise and bluster when he is on 
the retreat. A chicken sometimes jumps the highest 
after its head is off. A third lesson taught through 
this seven-day trip is that a higher degree of faith is 
required in the Christian warfare after sanctification 
than is required to obtain the blessing. The com- 
mand to shout before the walls fell, called forth the 
highest degree of faith held up in the Bible, namely, 
"Venturing Faith," "Abrahamic Faith," that which 
uses the promise as though it were the real goods. 
Reader, have you this brand in stock ? 



CHAPTER IX 

A TONIC FOR BACKSLIDERS 

"I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely" 
(Hos. 14:4). 

Many souls perish through presumption — presum- 
ing on the mercy of God ; thinking perhaps He does 
not mean all He says in His word ; thinking He will 
let them into heaven on little less terms than holi- 
ness of heart. On the other hand, there are thou- 
sands who perish through despair. Having tried so 
many times and failed, they lose all hope and plunge 
into sin without any reserve. 

Again, there are only a few people who know how 
to sympathize with backsliders. Generally, men are 
too severe in dealing with them. We should bear in 
mind that satan clubs and browbeats a poor, tempest- 
tossed, backslidden soul enough without our strength- 
ening his hands. So we now exhort every backslider 
to look up and be encouraged, and return to Father's 
house. He still loves thee very tenderly. He says, "I 
will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely,"' 
just as though thou hadst never backslidden. Jesus 
gives us a beautiful picture of the love of the Father 
toward backsliders in Luke, in the lesson on the 
Prodigal Son. 

We now mention some of the chief reasons why 
backsliders lose hope, and why those who do get 
reclaimed are so hard to be established. 

47 



48 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

1. Satan tells them God does not care for them ; 
therefore, there is no need of trying to get saved 
again. He also tells them God does not answer their 
prayers nor regard their tears, etc. But God does 
love you, friend. He is a thousand times more in- 
terested in you than your mother. Listen to His gra- 
cious voice, ^'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock : 
if any man * * * open the door, I will come in, 
and will sup with him, and he with me" (Eev. 3 : 20). 
Again, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them 
freely." Again, "The Lord is not willing that any 
should perish, but that all should come to repen- 
tance" (2 Pet. 3:9). 

2. The backslider has lost confidence in himself ; 
since he has tried and failed so often, he thinks he 
can not stand. And many times, present peace, pres- 
ent victories, and present joys are spoiled 'by the 
ghost of past failures. So, friend, look up! God is 
able to make you stand. Listen to His words: "I 
will strengthen thee, I will help thee" (Isa. 41: 10). 
"He giveth more grace." So, instead of looking at 
yourself and past failures, look to Jesus, and contend 
to stand, and He will help, and make you stand, 

3. The backslider is harassed by the opinions of 
religious people. The devil makes the soul think that ' 
no one has confidence in him, even when he has got- 
ten back to the Lord. While the Lord is pouring His 
blessings upon him he is encouraged, but as soon as 
the blessing is over, the enemy commences to torment 
him again, telling him, "The people did not believe 
he was blessed, but thought he was putting it on." 
So he commences to again lose his hold on faith and 



A TONIC FOR BACKSLIDERS 49 

to go down hill. He is in bondage to every Christian 
that knows him, and if they show the least doubt or 
lack of confidence in him, he will feel wounded and 
discouraged. But he should not do so. He should 
first pray through to God and get the witness that 
he is reclaimed, and then press forward in spite of 
men or devils. 

4. Another great hindrance to souls who have 
been backslidden, is the fact, perhaps, that they back- 
slid from a five, ten or twenty-year experience. So 
when they get reclaimed they expect to have all of 
that ten-year or five-year experience back right away. 
They are not contented in their souls (so to speak) 
to again start at the bottom of the ladder. They 
are like a millionaire who loses his wealth and has to 
come down to living on a salary of f 12 a week. Or 
they are like a city boy who has been accustomed to 
eating lots of city dainties, and who is sent to the 
country to be a farm-boy, but when he gets there he 
finds quite a difference in the table fare. Now, if the 
soul that has been backslidden will hold on and be 
willing to go down to the bottom of the ladder, God 
will exalt it in due time. 

Next, the question is often asked: "Can back- 
sliders regain their former favor with God?'^ No 
soul that backslides will ever be what it would 
have been had it not have backslidden. If two men 
start to run a mile, each of them traveling at the 
same speed, and one stops five minutes, and then com- 
mences to run again at the same speed that he was 
running before, he will never catch the other man 
until the mile is covered; he is five minutes l)ehind. 



50 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

So it is with the man that backslides; he is always 
THAT MUCH BEHIND what he might have been. How- 
ever, he can and may go on and get a thousand times 
better experience than he had before he backslid, 
provided he has faith, humility, courage and patience 
to again press through the childhood days of grace. 
Yes, I say, provided he has faith to walk and not 
falter when he does not feel; humility to submit to 
all the criticismy unpleasant affronts which he will 
meet, both from the church and from the world ; cour- 
age to press on in spite of men and devils and not 
faint ; and patience to wait until God again lifts up 
and establishes his soul. But hundreds fail here for 
the lack of these characteristics. Now, dear reader, if 
you have failed and are trying to rise again, you 
must take courage and press on for the '^hill-top ex- 
perience/' Praise God! 

The higher the point you fall from, the more diflS- 
cult it is to rise; nevertheless, it is possible to rise 
again. God is able to raise you up. Again, we go up 
in our experience, step by step. But when we fall, 
we go all the way from top to 'bottom. This is why 
men w^ho have fallen from a high standard of piety 
go so quickly into sin's deepest mire. Eemember, 
sat an fell from an angel to a deinl; Adam, from 
holiness and immortality, to sin, corruption, woe and 
death. Oh, let us walk carefully^ surely and closely 
with God, else after all we make our beds in hell ! 



CHAPTER X 

REBUILDING THE WALL 

"Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we 
be no more a reproach" (Neh. 2 : 17) . 

These are the words of Nehemiah to the priests 
and rulers of the Jews when he returned to Jerusa- 
lem to rebuild the wall. However, we want to make 
a spiritual application and apply it to the present 
times. 

The term "Jerusalem/' in the scriptures, has two 
spiritual meanings. First. It is a type of the "new 
heaven." John says, "And He carried me away in the 
Spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me 
that great city, the holy ^Jerusalem,' descending out 
of heaven from God'' (Rev. 21: 10). 

"Jerusalem" also refers to the church militant on 
earth. 

It was the ancient custom to enclose all large 
cities with a massive stone wall, which was their 
source of protection against invading foes. 

What the walls were to the ancient cities, the Holy 
Ghost, fire and power are to the church to-day. The 
Lord says, "I will be unto her a tvall of fire round 
about" (Zech. 2:5). We must all confess that the 
walls of spiritual Jerusalem (the church) are badly 
broken down, and great reproach is upon us from 
the mockers of religion and holiness ; so we feel to ex- 
claim with Nehemiah, "Come and let us build up the 

51 



52 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach" 
to the nations about us. 

The question may here arise, ''How shall we be- 
gin ?'' Verse 10 of the fourth chapter says, ''there is 
much rubhish." We answer, ''Kemove the rubbish !'' 
No contractor commences to build his structure with- 
out first removing the obstructions. Neither can we 
rebuild the work of God and obtain the old-time fire 
and power of the Holy Ghost without doing some 
cleaning up. 

Let us notice some of the classes of ruhMsh that 
are in the way and that need to be removed. 

First. ''SloW and ''neglect." It is appalling to 
see the awful inroad these hellish maladies have made 
in our ranks. Where the prayer and class-meeting 
used to be well attended, now it is almost a miracle 
to gOit a dozen people out to an early prayer-meeting. 
^'Oh, where are we drifting?" Instead of the people 
pushing their way out to prayer-meeting, as in by- 
gone days, they are lounging around the fireside, or 
lying in bed until nine or ten o'clock on Sabbath 
morning ; and if they attend the meeting at all, they 
come trailing in twenty or thirty minutes late. O 
God, wake us up ! 

Second. The next class of rubbish that hinders 
our building up the wall, is an unforgiving spirit. 
People profess religion and holiness and at the same 
time hold malice and ill will against their brother or 
sister because of some past failure or mistake. But 
remember, dear one, unless you forgive your brother 
and sister all of their trespasses, you will never enter 
heaven. You are not only to forgive them, but also 



REBUILDING THE WALL 53 

to take them into your confidence, and love and trust 
them just as you did before they offended you. Hear 
the words of Jesus, "If ye forgive men their tres- 
passes, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither 
will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 
6:14, 15). 

Third. The next class of ruhhish to be removed is 
^'club-throwing," "cross-firing" and insinuating at 
others, through prayer and testimony. No one can 
keep a sweet spirit and practise any such thing. How 
often churches are broken up, people are driven 
away, and Christian people grow rabid and sour 
because they do such things. You never help any one 
by throwing a club at him through your prayer or 
testimony. It is far better to go to him alone and 
give him the reproof you have for him. It will not 
only help him but also save you from a harsh, bulldog 
spirit. 

Fourth. The next class of rubtish to be removed 
is iinconfessed misdoings. Now, people often censure 
the other church-member for not fellowshiping and 
having confidence in them. Well, it is impossible to 
fellowship and have confidence in some people, under 
some circumstances. If you have done something 
wrong and have not confessed and straightened it up 
(as far as possible), the saints can never fellowship 
with and have confidence in you until you do so. If 
they did, they would be indorsing sin. The only way 
to restore confidence is to confess and rectify our 
mistakes and sins. 

Now, we believe we have removed all of the rub- 



54 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

bish, SO we mention a few of the things needful to 
build. 

The first thing builders do after they have re- 
moved the rubbish, is to draw a straight line so as 
to have the structure straight and plumb. So it is 
in building up the work of God — things must be done 
on a straight line. If we expect God's power and 
fire, we must have "heart-honesty /' We may evade 
things a little when we are dealing with our fellow 
man, but when we are dealing with God, and expect 
the fire to fall, we must be judgment-day honest. 

The next thing required, if we want the power and 
fire as of old, is that we recall every ray of light 
that has ever shone upon our hearts since the day we 
were converted, and walk in it. 

Next, we are to reestablish a day in each week, 
of fasting and prayer before God, as we did in our 
early experience. 

Next, we must refrain from everything in our 
life or conduct that would cause a brother to stumble 
or doubt the grace of God in us. 

Next, we must refrain from doing or saying any 
thing that has ever caused the Spirit to reprove us. 

Next, we must cultivate an ardent spirit of prayer 
and daily meditation, and by so doing we will see the 
walls rebuilt, the reproach rolled away and hell put 
to flight. Amen! 



CHAPTEE XI 

THE BURNING BUSH 

"And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame 
of fire out of the midst of a bush" (Exod. 3:2). 

Most Bible students are aware of the fact that 
windy water y oil and -fire are used in the holy scrip- 
tures as symbols of the Holy Ghost. 

God has left a monument in every dispensation 
to convince men of the fact that they must have the 
■fire experience (the baptism of fire) after receiving 
forgiveness of sin. Abel had it, Elijah had it, Abra- 
ham had it, Moses had it, Elisha had it, and also 
Isaiah and all of the disciples. There were several 
facts about Moses' bush experience that are quite 
similar to the experience through which one passes 
in receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost, namely, 
being sanctified wholly. 

1. The first similarity is seen in the fact that his 
"burning-bush" experience was deary definite and 
distinct. It was not a "maybe-so" or a '^reckon-so" af- 
fair, but it was unmistakably clear. It was an ex- 
perience that he could never forget. Just so it is 
when we receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. We 
do not have to ''maybe so," "reckon so,'' or Hhink 
so'' about it, as we will know so beyond a shadow 
of doubt. If people have to reckon so and guess so, 
it is quite evident that they have not received it. 

2. The fire was in the midst, namely, in the cen- 

55 



56 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

ter of the bush. It was not in a hundred-foot, sturdy 
oak, neither was it in a half-grown tree, but in the 
center of a bush. The thought suggested here is 
this : Salvation is placed w^ithin the reach of all class- 
es of human beings, even children. Peter said, ''For 
the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to 
all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our 
God shall call" (Acts 2: 39). The Bible closes with 
this blessed invitation, ''And the Spirit and the bride 
say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And 
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely'^ 
(Eev. 22:17). 

3. A third thing worthy of our attention regard- 
ing this BUSH experience is the kind of matter God 
used. He did not use a man nor a live animal, but 
something that would not offer any resistance. All 
who receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost become 
fully given up and passive in the hands of God, other- 
wise the holy fire would never fall on their souls. 

4. The fire did not consume the bush, neither 
does receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost destroy 
our common sense or individuality, nor does it make 
men religious tramps and vagabonds. 

5. Its effects upon Moses harmonize perfectly 
with the way that the Holy Ghost affects men to-day. 

Notice some of the effects. First. It brought him 
into unthought of fellowship and communion with 
God. He was more acquainted with God than he 
was with any human being upon earth. This is just 
what the baptism of the Holy Ghost does for men 
to-day. It causes them to live on earth and in heaven 
at the same time. 



THE BURNING BUSH 57 

Second. After Moses received the ^^burning-bush" 
experience, he was the meekest man in all the earth. 
''The baptism of the Holy Ghost will cleanse the 
proudest man so that he will become remarkable for 
his humility ; the most impatient man, so that he will 
become a model of calmness and sweetness ; the most 
selfish man, so that he will excel in self-f orgetf ulness ; 
the most stingy and penurious, so that he will pour 
out his money for the cause of God as a fountain 
pours out its waters." 

The next way in which Moses was greatly affected 
by his new experience was, he received an effective 
message for others, and so does every Spirit-filled 
soul. Oh, that every minister and church-member in 
the country would tarry for their ''burning-bush" 
experience ! 



CHAPTEE XII 

A SEEMINGLY RIGHT WAY 

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; but 
the end thereof are the ways of death" (Prov. 14:12). 

What awful words, "A way that seemeth right." 
God knew false teachers would greatly bemuddle the 
people as to which is the right way to heaven and 
which is the wrong. He also knew that men would 
deceive themselves, so He hung out this red light of 
warning through the prophet, ages ago, and its rays 
of light are still streaming down on the path of 
man, even to this present day. If hell will seem un- 
bearable to any class of folks, I believe it will be to 
those who were deceived. Oh, think of the millions 
of people who are deceived by the devil and false 
teachers, and are rapidly traveling to the flames! 

We now mention a few reasons why men are so 
easily deceived. 1. They like an easy path ; they do 
not like to bear any cross or undergo any hardships. 
Hence, the religion that has none of these things in 
it is the one they will seek. 2. They like to be their 
own boss, their own god and do as they please. This 
is why Eve ate the forbidden fruit; she thought it 
would make her a god and deliver her from having to 
serve the God of heaven and earth. So it is with the 
people these days ; they do not like any religion that 
demands strict obedience. They do not mind going 
to church and doing a few religious things, if they 

58 



A SEEMINGLY RIGHT WAY 59 

can come home and live a selfish, sinful life, and over- 
reach and cheat in business, and swear, smoke, drink, 
etc. But any church or religion that holds them to 
being clean right through and through, they do 
not want, but will flock after the cheaper kind. 3. 
The next reason men are so easily deceived, is that 
they like to follow the crowd; they must be with 
custom^ no matter if it is going to hell as fast as the 
hours go by. How true are the words of the Son of 
God when He said, "Wide is the gate, and broad is 
the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there 
be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, 
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and 
feiv there be that find it" (Matt. 7: 13, 14). 

We now mention some ways that seem to be right 
to some people. 1. The way of the moralist, the man 
who has never been engaged in any awful sin or 
crime, but has been reared well and has attended 
church and Sabbath-school, notwithstanding he has 
never had ''the new birth," namely, birth from above, 
as Jesus told Mcodemus he had to have. However, 
this class of people lean on their morality and say 
they are good enough. They agree that liars and 
thieves and murderers need the "new birth," but 
think themselves all right; however, their end is 
death. 

2. The next way that seems to be right to some 
people, is the theory that there is no hell. They say, 
"God is too merciful to send His creatures to a hell 
of fire and brimstone." There are thousands of folks 
deceived at this point, even some so-called preachers. 
But they do not seem to have common sense enough 



60 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

to see that the very Bible that tells of an eternal 
heaven of bliss and sunshine, also tells of a lake of 
fire and brimstone for the ungodly and the sinner. 
We read in Psa. 9 : 17, ^'The wicked shall be turned 
into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Again 
we read in Matt. 13 : 40, 41, ''As therefore the tares 
are gathered and burned in the fire ; so shall it be in 
the end of the world ; the Son of man shall send forth 
His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom 
all things that offend, and them which do iniquity: 
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire : there shall 
be wailing and gnashing of teeth.'' Again we read in 
Matt. 25 : 41, ''Then shall He say also unto them on 
the left hand. Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.-' 
Again in Luke IG : 23, we read of the rich man thus : 
"In hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments." 
Now, friends, no matter what the deceiving, false 
preacher or priest may say about there being no hell, 
you believe God's Bible and be on the safe side, for 
a mistake here means eternal ruin and despair. 

3. The next way that seems to be right, is the 
way of spiritualism and also Christian Science. There 
never was a greater delusion begotten in hell than 
these two. They do away with repentance, the hlood, 
the cross and Jesus. Oh, it is alarming how the peo- 
ple in this enlightened age are being deceived and 
led to hell with their eyes open! Oh, who will rise 
up against these evil-doers? 

4. The next way that seems to be right is the 
way of sinning religion. Oh, how the people are 
misled these days by having preachers tell them they 



A SEEMINGLY RIGHT WAY 61 

^^must sin/' they can not live without ''^sinning,'' etc. ; 
but if the Bible is true (and it surely is), these 
preachers and their flocks are on their way down to 
the flames. God's Bible says, ^'He that committeth 
sin is of the devil ; for the devil sinneth from the 
beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was 
manifested, that He might destroy the works of the 
deviP' (1 John 3:8). In Matt. 1 : 21 we read, ''Thou 
shalt call His name Jesus : for He shall save His peo- 
ple from their sins/' Now, there are only two classes 
of people in the world, namely, the saints and sin- 
ners. Saints are the people whom Jesus saves from 
all sin. Sinners are the folks who have to sin, whether 
it is little or much. 

The Bible does not say how much sin, but simply 
says, "He that committeth sin is of the devil." Again 
it says, ''If we walk in the light, as He is in the light 
* * * the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth 
us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). 

Now, friend, look this matter square in the face, 
for you have to meet God's Word at the judgment 
bar; and if you are not saved from all sin, you are 
going to have your part in the lake which burneth 
with fire and brimstone. Rev. 21 : 8. 



CHAPTEE XIII 
A BUNDLE OF "DO NOTS" 

In the eighteenth chapter of Luke, where the 
ruler came to Jesus saying, ^'Good M aster, what shall 
I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus, in replying to 
his question, gave him a few "do nots:" "Do not 
commit adultery, Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not 
bear false witness" (Verse 20). 

When the writer was a boy and lived in the coun- 
try, he had to get wood for fuel out of the forest ; so if 
he could manage to get a lot of "pine," ^'hickory," or 
"oak knots" together, it would make a hotter and 
more lasting fire under mother's pot than anything 
else. Now, we here recommend, in this chapter, a 
bundle of spiritual "do nots ;" so if you will take them 
home and use them, we believe you will be able to 
keep a real hot. Holy Ghost fire under your spiritual 
pot (your soul), from revival to revival, from camp- 
meeting to camp-meeting. Therefore, your food for 
your spiritual boarders will be kept hot, and you will 
not have to hash out a lot of old, cold sermons, testi- 
monies, prayers, exhortations, etc.; but your meals 
will be hot all the year, and you will have no trouble 
in keeping your boarders from free lunching here and 
there. 

The first is, do not doubt God. The Bible is 
said to contain three thousand promises, but they 
are no good to us unless we believe and appropriate 

62 



A BUNDLE OF *'D0 NOTS" 63 

them. God does not ask us to explain the ''whys and 
wherefores" about His business. Our part is to be- 
lieve; and if we believe properly, namely, with all 
our hearts, w^e will obey, which is a natural result 
of believing. But to doubt Him, on any line, is as 
great a crime as stealing. We are to believe, no mat- 
ter if we can not see how the thing will come out. 
Believe anyway, and it will come out all right. 

The second is, ''Do not" make God wait when 
He bids you do this or do that. There are thousands 
who have turned to a "pillar of salt," spiritually, be- 
cause they made God wait. Perhaps He called them 
to the ministry or to the foreign field, or to do home 
missionary work ; but they kept putting Him off un- 
til He left them alone. 

We heard of a man whom God called to the min- 
istry, but he had one of those "little-faith," bossy, 
commanding wives, and when he wanted to go she 
wanted him to wait until he had bought a home, and 
had fixed up things in general. He was persuaded 
and put God off a few years. Finally, he finished pay- 
ing for the home and finished all his home duties so 
that his wife could have everything as she wished (so 
to speak). Then he said to the Lord, "Here I am; I 
am ready to do thy bidding." But one night, as he 
finished testifying in a meeting, and sat down, the 
death angel summoned him to meet his God, without 
a moment's warning. Oh, friend! brother! sister! 
W^hatever you do, do not put God off. There was 
a sister, whom God called to the work, but as her hus- 
band was a person who required lots of waiting upon, 
she put God off to stay home and serve "hubby." 



64 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

But finally the death angel came and took him to 
eternity; then she said to the Lord, "Here I am, 
Lord; I am all free to go for thee." But He did 
not want her then. He had found another woman 
long before that time, so He left her to her idols. 

Oh, what an awful thing it is to make God wait ! 

Third. ^'Do nof ' lightly regard sin. There is 
danger among people who have been saved quite a 
while, of lightly regarding sin; of having too much 
confidence in themselves, presuming that they can 
go right to the door of sin, and not be scorched. But, 
friend, our advice is, keep at the uttermost distance 
from every form of it. As one writer has said ; "Take 
heed of every sin ; count no sin small, and obey every 
command with all your might. Watch against the first 
rising of sin, and beware of the borders of it. ^Shun 
the very appearance of evil.^ Venture not upon 
temptation or occasions of sin.'' Remember, the most 
venomous serpents and the most ferocious beasts 
have been tamed; but sin, can no man tame! It is 
deadly in every form. "It is born, pregnant with 
woe, and death, and hell." Its sting is a million 
times more deadly than the sting of an adder, be- 
cause it inflicts endless pain, and eternal death. 

Oh, brother! take heed, beware of all shades of 
sin. Shun it as you would the teeth of a dragon ! Do 
not venture upon it because you are saved and sancti- 
fied, thinking for this reason you will not be burned. 
That is why you should shun it more than any other 
man upon earth; because your fall will do more 
damage to the cause of Christ than the fall of ten 
justified men. 



A BUNDLE OF "DO NOTS" 65 

Fourth. "Do not" trifle with light and convic- 
tions. Oh, the multitudes of souls that are ship- 
wrecked on these two dangerous rocks! Oh, God 
help me, lest I be shipwrecked here, and go down 
to hell to spend eternity with the damned. 

Kemember, God does not reveal His will to us by 
the light of His Holy Spirit to mock us, or for us to 
trifle with. Every ray of light that shines upon our 
heart, at any point along the pathway of life, from 
the '*altar to the throne,'' is to be cherished and 
walked in with delight. How many spiritual wrecks 
we see standing along the path of life, who dilly dal- 
lied and trifled with light and personal convictions 
for years. And at last, in spite of all the reproofs 
of the Spirit, the wooings of the Spirit, the warnings 
of the Spirit, the checks of the Spirit; yes, in spite 
of it all, God could not get them to give up that cer- 
tain thing, or pursue that certain course, or make 
that certain confession or restitution; therefore. He 
has left them alone, and now they are "pillars of salt" 
along the pathway of time, awaiting their coming 
doom. "Take heed! Walk while you have light, lest 
darkness come upon you ;" yes, darkness, death and 
endless night. 

Fifth. "Do not" reason with the devil under 
any circumstance, for he has been in the soul-de- 
ceiving business six thousand years, and can out- 
reason you a thousand times. He will come to you 
after some one has injured you, and show you "how 
badly he has treated you." "Just see how many times 
he has treated you thus." "Why, that's no small in- 
jury !" Now, if he can get you to look at it very long. 



66 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

he has gained his point ; for, if your thoughts dwell 
upon it, it will appear more awful, and you will dis- 
cover a bitter, sour, cold, "drawing-away feeling" 
toward that person. 

Oh, how fast the devil's seed grows! Beware! 
Do not allow him to sow them in your garden 
(heart). He can not sow them unless he first enters 
into conversation with you, and while you are look- 
ing at his scarecrows, he sows the seed of bitterness 
in your heart. The best and safest way, is to do as 
the Word says : ''Kesist the devil and he will flee from 
you." So, hereafter, as soon as you realize it is the 
devil that is magnifying your brother's or sister's 
faults, or his or her seeming unkindness toward you, 
why, shut him off at once I Think about something 
else, or commence to sing a song of victory, or read 
the Word; then sat an will flee. Hallelujah! 

Sixth. "Do not" be hasty in making rash vows; 
for, after you make them, God may expect you to 
keep them. The Word says, "When thou vowest a vow 
unto God, defer not to pay it ; for He hath no pleasure 
in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed" (Eccles. 
5:4). Again, "Better is it that thou shouldest not 
vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." 
Now, sometimes souls are in great earnest and will 
say like this: "I never will do this or that.'^ But 
by and by, as they travel the path of life, they may 
find that God did not require any such vow, namely, 
did not require them to pursue any such course. 
But what are they to do now, since the vow is upon 
them ? We believe in such cases God will forgive and 
excuse a soul, especially when they are young in the 



A BUNDLE OF "DO NOTS" 67 

way and are willing to do almost anything; but 
satan took advantage of their earnestness and 
pushed them too far. On the other hand, God some- 
times holds us to our vows. Therefore, we would 
advise that you be very careful what you vow your- 
self to do or not to do. It is perfectly right to rigidly 
vow yourself against all that the Word forbids, with 
God's help; but outside of that, be very careful, for 
when you make a vow for always, it means more than 
you can comprehend ; and as you travel the path of 
life, you will find its yoke galling your neck ; besides, 
you will find that it was a rash vow and was not dic- 
tated by the Spirit. 

Seventh. ''Do not" have much to say when 
tempted or depressed. The least you have to say, 
the better it is for you. It is very easy, if we are 
not careful, to say something out of the Spirit; to 
make some remark for which, later on, we will have 
to ask forgiveness. Jesus knew the secret. "As a 
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not 
His mouth" (Isa. 53:7). 



CHAPTEE XIV 

THE ALTAR PLEDGE 

I made a pledge with Christ my Lord 
With Him to always walk; 

The narrow'st of the ''narrow road," 
And never, never balk. 

I made a pledge with Christ my Lord 
To heed what e'er He'd say ; 

And all my words and actions guard 
So from Him I'd not stray. 

I made a pledge with Christ my Lord 

To render all my store; 
And never, gold or silver hoard, 

But share it with the poor. 

I made a pledge with Christ my Lord 

To walk in all the light ; 
No matter how my will it bored, 

I'd walk with heart contrite. 

I made a pledge with Christ my Lord 
I'd to this world be dead ; 

Tho' all my friends made it their lord 
I'd never lift my head. 

I made a pledge with Christ my Lord 
To live in judgment light; 

Tho' others could some guile afford, 
I'd keep my "motive" white. 

68 



CHAPTEE XV 

UNFAILING WEALTH 

"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the tire, that 
thou mayest be rich" (Rev. 3:18). 

In many places, in the New Testament, the Holy 
Ghost has used treasures, representing the ^^Great 
Salvation." We read in Matt. 13 : 44, "The king- 
dom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; 
the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and 
for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and 
buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven 
is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls: 
who, when he had found one pearl of great price^ 
went and sold all that he had, and bought it." In 
2 Cor. 4 : 7 we read the words, "But we have this 
treasure in earthen vessels," and in our text, He 
likens salvation to tried gold. 

Let us briefly observe a few things about gold 
and also note some of the many ways wherein it re- 
sembles the "Great Salvation." First. Gold in its 
primary state is hidden from the natural eye and 
from public gaze. Does this not harmonize perfectly 
with the statement made by the Apostle Paul in 
1 Cor. 2 : 14, which reads as follows : "But the natural 
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: 
for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he 
know them, because they are spiritually discerned" ? 
Is this not the reason our unsaved loved ones and 



70 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

friends fail to see anything in our constant going 
to church, our shouting, our plain dress, etc.? Yes, 
this is that "highway'' spoken of by Isaiah, which 
the unclean shall not pass over, neither shall the 
vulture's eye (unclean person) ever look upon it. 
Thank God! 

A second way in which gold resembles the "Great 
Salvation" is, it is obtained only by earnest ^ diligent, 
persevering seekers. If a man is going to the gold 
regions to seek gold, he will have to mean business, 
sure enough. If he has not settled it in his heart to 
go through wind, rain, snow, ice and privation of 
every kind, he might as well stay at home. In seek- 
ing Bible religion, if we would have the real thing, 
we must dig down with old-time earnestness, prayer, 
fasting, self-abnegation, and faith, until we receive 
a witness as clear as the noonday sky, and the fire 
falls from heaven on our souls. We admit this is far 
from what is being taught nowadays by many of the 
religious teachers, who are going to and fro in the 
land, telling souls that all they have to do to get 
saved is to reform, turn over a new leaf, believe 
Jesus was the Son of God, and join the church. But 
this teaching is not accompanied with that mighty 
conviction, soul travail and thunder and lightning 
power of the Holy Ghost that fell on our fathers in 
the days of yore. Oh, hallelujah! Wesley wrote: 
"While I was preaching at Newgate * * * im- 
mediately one and another and another sank to the 
earth. They dropped on every side as though thun- 
derstruck." Many in Ireland, during the time of the 
great outpouring of the Spirit in the year 1628, were 



UNFAILING WEALTH 71 

SO filled with a sense of the power of God that they 
had but little use for either meat or drink. Mr. Lee, 
in an account he gives of a revival held in 1787, says : 
"Hundreds were so overcome with the power of God 
that they fell down and lay helpless upon the floor." 
Meeting ancient-day conditions brings ancient-day 
power and fire. This same old hrand of religion is on 
the market yet and can be obtained by diligently 
looking it up, or, in other words, by praying it down. 
A third way in which gold resembles salvation, 
is that it requires our all to obtain it. Men sacri- 
fice home, family, ease, health and even life itself in 
search of the precious metal. In obtaining the ''pearl 
of great price'' and the "tried gold," it takes the 
wliole man and all that he has to obtain it. Jesus 
said, "Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not 
all that he hath, he can not be my disciple" (Luke 
14:33). Therefore, for people to try to obtain it 
and at the same time cling to their idols, is the height 
of presumption. 

Fourth. The next striking resemblance that gold 
has to salvation is, it has to undergo two distinct 
processes before it is ready for market. 1. It has 
to go through the icashing process to cleanse out all 
of the dirt and sand, thus making it clean but not 
pm^e. Is not this a striking resemblance of the 
"washing of regeneration" spoken of in Tit. 3 : 5 
and in John 15 : 3, which cleanses the soul from all 
guilt, unclean desires, and habits? 2. The second pro- 
cess that the gold has to undergo is the purifying 
process, where it is put into the fire and melted, and 
all of the dross and allov are refined out of it, and it 



72 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

is made pure. How beautifully this illustrates the 
second work of grace, namely, the baptism of the 
Holy Ghost and fire, which the believer receives after 
conversion, and which purifies the heart from all of 
the dross and alloy of inbred sin, such as anger, pride, 
selfishness, envy, and prejudice; and when the Holy 
Trinity takes up its abode in his heart to keep him 
pure and holy forever. 

A fifth noticeable feature about gold is, it will 
stand the test of the strongest acids without tarnish- 
ing the least; just so it is with God's salvation; it 
will pass through the acid of sickness, sorrow, loss, 
misunderstanding, slander, criticism, persecution, 
poverty, and death without being the least bit tar- 
nished by resentment, impatience, grumbling or fret. 
Reader, have you any of this gold ? 

Sixth. Gold also resembles salvation in that it 
is always in style and ever useful for both young 
and old. We admit that some churches have con- 
cluded that religion is not sufficient to hold the young 
people, and so have summoned the world — billiard 
and pool games, dancing, card-playing, church enter- 
tainments, etc. — to assist in holding them. But I 
declare unto you, if they would repent and pray 
through, and get the tried gold, ''the Great Salva- 
tion," it will prove a "hahW that will heal every 
church malady in both young and old. 

A seventh and final way in which gold resembles 
salvation is, it will lift a man from the gutter to the 
throne. Many times we have heard and read of 
paupers becoming wealthy in one day through in- 
heritance, and thus have come up from the gutter 



UNFAILING WEALTH 73 

and dunghill to sit down upon a throne (so to speak). 
This is precisely what God's "Great Salvation" does 
for men. It lifts them out of the gutters and cess- 
pools of sin and iniquity, and washes them white in 
the blood of the Lamb, and finally lifts them up into 
glory to sit down at the right hand of God the Father, 
Son and Holy Ghost. 

Oh, hallelujah to the Lamb that was slain! 



CHAPTEE XVI 
LOST 

Since we read so much in the Bible, and hear so 
much at the bedside of dying sinners about being 
lost, let us closely examine this subject and see how 
much is implied in this small word. We are often 
compelled to listen to such testimonies as the follow- 
ing, echoing from the sick-rooms of dying sinners: 
^'The fiends have come for me and are dragging me 
down; I am lost, lost, lost!" ''I am in the flames, 
pull me out ! pull me out !" ^'I am doomed for hell. 
Too late, too late, too late !" 

Let us observe a few things implied in being 
eternally lost. The first thing implied in being lost, 
is for a soul to drift beyond the boundary line of 
God's mercy and pardon. 

"There is a line by us unseen, 

That crosses every path; 
The hidden boundary between 

God's patience and His wrath. 

"To pass this limit is to die ; 

To die as if by stealth; 
It does not quench the beaming eye 

Or pale the glow of health. 

"Oh! where is this mysterious bourne 

By which our path is crossed, 
Beyond which God Himself hath sworn 

That he who goes is lost?" 

74 



LOST 75 

A second thing implied in being lost, is for the 
soul to be separated from God, the source of all 
peace, joy and felicity, and banished from His pres- 
ence forever. 

A third thing implied in being lost, is for the soul 
to drift beyond the sphere of Hope, Light and Love. 
Let us observe a few points of interest concerning 
Hope. 

First. It is the anticipating faculty of .the soul 
— that which sweetens present sorrows with future 
prospects and future joys. There is not a being to 
be found in all the world who is bereft of every ray 
of hope, no matter how low down in sorrow's gloomy 
vale, nor how bitter may be the cup of human grief, 
nor how heavily may rest the hand of affliction upon 
the soul. Yes, in the darkest den of human woes 
burns the flickering lamp of hope, and the sufferers 
are looking forward to a better day, and to more 
favorable circumstances. But the soul that crosses 
the threshold of hell, is stripped of all hope ; for hell 
is a place where hope has died in every breast, and 
Mercy is a stranger. 

Second. The lost soul is also beyond the sphere of 
"Light." We have read of a darkness in Egypt so 
thick that it could be felt ; we have tried to imagine 
the cloud of gloom that would soon envelop this 
world, if the light of the sun and every star were to 
be instantly and completely extinguished. Think of 
a world without sun, moon or stars ; without electric 
light, gaslight or lamplight, but forever wrapped in 
shoreless gloom. Think of a world without a blade 
of grass, or a flower, or a drop of rain, or a singing 



76 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

bird ; yes, without a breath of air, or a green leaf or 
a cluster of fruit, and with nothing but emptiness, 
desolation and waste everywhere the eye doth behold. 

Third. The lost soul is also beyond the sphere of 
"Love.'^ We have all felt the sharp pangs of broken 
friendship and the chilly winds of human scorn ; but 
the soul who is lost forever will never again be 
greeted with a smile, a kind word of cheer, nor ever 
receive a letter from home and loved ones; the tender 
ties of friendship are forever broken. Oh, awful 
thought ! 

A fourth thing implied in being lost, is for a soul 
to have the eternal disapproval and curse of Almighty 
God resting upon it. Think! If God's gentle curse 
on Adam, ^Hn the cool of the day," filled the earth 
with noxious weeds, thistles, sun-baked plains, and 
jagged cliffs, what must it be in hell, where His un- 
mitigating eye of flaine everlastingly rests upon the 
soul? It was this, no doubt, that caused Altamont, 
the dying infidel, to make the following remarks: 
^'Oh, thou blasphemed, yet most indulgent Lord God ! 
Hell is a refuge, if it hides me from thy frown." 

A fifth thing implied in being lost, is for the soul 
to enter upon a stage of everlasting retrogression. 
It is a sad picture to see hale, hearty men or women 
go into decline. We have watched them as they were 
slowly and silently withered away by the heavy hand 
of disease. It is also a very sad picture to see pure, 
innocent boys or girls become victims of the 
awful malady, '^sin;" and as we observe them from 
day to day, month to month, and year to year, we are 
made to see sin's unhallowed flame glowering in their 



LOST 77 

eyes, the deep lines of guilt engraved upon their 
brow, and the flame of artificial appetite consuming 
them in the very presence of their friends. We have 
all seen that ragged, hunger-bitten, homeless drunk- 
ard lying in the way, have observed his goblin cheek 
and wretched eve, and have also listened to his heart- 
rending, long, lamentable groan. Well, this man 
was, one day, a pure, innocent babe, on his mother^s 
knee ; but in becoming a victim of sin for fifty years, 
it wrought this great change in his life, namely, 
brought him from innocence to guilt, from purity to 
rank defilement, from peace and infant bliss to shore- 
less woe. Think, reader! If sin will make such a 
marked difference or change in a soul in fifty years, 
right here on earth, amid Bibles, churches, preachers 
and missionaries, what will it do with a soul in hell 
for all eternitj^? Another thing implied in being 
lost, is for the soul to be bound forever in God's 
prison-house. Oh, how men dread being imprisoned 
for a few years here upon earth. But the soul that 
goes to hell shall be forever shut in by those flaming, 
adamantine walls which girdle that fiery gulf. 

A sixth thing implied in being lost, is for the soul 
to suffer the eternal torments delineated in the Word 
of God. Let us briefly observe them. 1. The first 
phase of this torment that comes to mind, is the sink- 
ing of the soul forever in the bottomless pit of hell. 
Eev. 20 : 1. Who can form any small conception of the 
suffering of a soul that is sinking forever and ever 
into the bottomless pit of fire and brimstone? 2. 
The next phase of this torment is the association of 
hell. Men here upon earth consider it quite an un- 



78 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

pleasant thing to be compelled to ride in a street-car 
or live in a community with a rowdy or low class of 
people. But w^hat will it be in hell, where they have 
to associate with liars, thieves, drunkards, harlots, 
adulterers and whoremongers for all eternity ? Add 
to these the legion of grimacing devils, howling 
fiends, frowning hobgoblins and sneering imps. 3. 
The next phase of this torment of which we wish to 
speak, is the constant gnawing of the undying worm, 
namely, remorse^ guilty conscience and regret^ which 
shall prey upon the soul like so many hungry vul- 
tures, while the outraged justice of a holy God shall 
lay on her fiery whip. 4. A fourth phase of this tor- 
ment is, the soul being forever confined in a lake of 
fire and brimstone. What saith the scripture on this 
subject? ''And whosoever was not found written in 
the book of life was cast into the lake of fire'^ (Kev. 
20:15). "There shall be wailing and gnashing of 
teeth" (Matt. 13: 42). ''The fire that never shall be 
quenched : where their worm dieth not, and the fire 
is not quenched" (Mark 9: 45, 46). 

The next and last thing implied in being lost, to 
which we here give space, is the unending duration 
of the sinner's suffering. Listen to the voice of in- 
spiration on this awful thought: "And these shall 
go away into everlasting punishment" (Matt. 25 : 46). 
"Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction 
from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory 
of His power" (2 Thess. 1:9). "And the smoke of 
their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever" (Rev. 
14:11). 

Eeader, have you ever stopped and seriously con- 



LOST 79 

sidered what eternity means, and what it will mean 
to spend it in hell ? Think how awful it would be to 
be shut up for a hundred years in a furnace filled 
with fire and brimstone here on earth, while through 
the chimney leaped inky smoke and sheets of flame. 
Eemember, if you neglect salvation and go to hell, 
your imprisonment in a furnace of fire will not 
simply be for a hundred years, or a thousand or ten 
thousand times ten thousand years, but for long, long 
eternity. 

I've crossed the line of Mercy's bound, 
Where peace and pardon could be found, 
And drifted to this far-off place 
From God and heaven and His free grace. 

I've landed on this shore of night ; 
No pleasing scenes now greet roy sight; 
But fiends and men here writhe in pain 
And bite and gnaw the fiery chain. 



CHAPTER XVII 

HOLINESS 

"Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Pet. 1:16). 

It is a lamentable fact ; it is true, however, that 
this grand theme expressed in our text has become 
more nauseous to the preachers and members of the 
modern churches, with a few exceptions, than the 
rumshops and the gambling-dens. Oh, ^'tell it not 
in Gath !" The ministers of these days not only fail 
to live and preach this doctrine, but also exhaust al- 
most their entire force in opposing and denouncing it. 
But, leaving these false guides to the error of their 
ways, let us first inquire if this great theme is scrip- 
tural ; if so, we will let God be true and every man a 
liar. We will live and die by the Bible. Bless God ! 

To avoid contention we will quote only from the 
New Testament. Now, it is to be remembered that 
such terms as "holy," "sanctification," "perfect," and 
"a pure heart" are synonymous, namely, meaning 
the same thing. Now we will proceed to prove holi- 
ness according to the scriptures. First. We read in 
Matt. 5 : 48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your 
Father which is in heaven is perfect.'' Also in John 
17 : 17, "Sanctify them through thy truth : thy w^ord 
is truth." Now, for fear we would think He was pray- 
ing only for His disciples. He adds in the 20th verse, 
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also 
which shall believe on me through their word." So 

80 



HOLINESS 81 



it is an indisputable fact that Jesus Christ prayed 
for all believers of every denomination to be sancti- 
fied wholly, and if any preacher or teacher teaches 
to the contrary, he is a deceiver and a false prophet 
and is to be shunned as you would the fires of hell. 
Again we read in Eph. 1 : 4, '^According as He hath 
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, 
that we should be holy and without blame before Him 
in love." The deceiving preachers are pulling the 
wool over their hearers' eyes by telling them that 
holiness is a new doctrine, and to beware of it. But 
I tell you, friend, holiness is the old doctrine; yes, 
as old as God Himself. But all doctrines that oppose 
holiness are new and devil-begot and hell-born. O 
God, deliver the people from the cutthroat, money- 
loving, deceiving, false preachers who are begotten by 
the devil, birthed by a backslidden church and 
swaddled in the seminaries, nursed on the bottle of 
filthy lucre and dandled on the knee of public senti- 
ment ! Again we read in Eph. 5 : 25-27, "Husbands, 
love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, 
and gave Himself for it ; that He might sanctify and 
cleanse it with the w^ashing of water by the Word, 
That He might present it to Himself a glorious 
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such 
thing; but it should be holy and without blemish." 
Again we read in 1 Thess. 5 : 23, 24, "And the very 
God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God 
your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved 
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
Now, for fear we would be astonished with such a 
prayer, the apostle adds in verse 24, "Faithful is He 



82 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

that called you, who also will do it." Again we read 
in Heb. 12 : 14, ''Follow peace with all men, and 
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." 

Now, reader, hereafter, no matter what the 
preacher may say, you believe God's Bible, if you 
want to enter the Golden City. 

The next question that arises among the people 
is this: Is holiness and sanctification attainable in 
this life? The preacher tells them, "It is only obtain- 
able at death." But what saith the Lord? We read 
in Luke 1 : 73-75, ''The oath which He sware to our 
father Abraham, That He would grant unto us, that 
we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, 
might serve Him without fear, in holiness and right- 
ousness before Him all the days of our lifeJ^ Again 
we read in Tit. 2 : 11, 12, "The grace of God that 
bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teach- 
ing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this 
present tcorlcl.^' 

The next question that ariseth among the people 
is: "Is holiness a second work, or do we get it all 
when we get converted?" Well, let us see what the 
Word says, since we are to be judged by it. In 
John 17 : 16, we read, "They are not of the world, 
even as I am not of the world" (not sinners, doing 
and living as the worldly people live). "Sanctify 
them." Again we read Paul's exhortation to the 
Hebrew Christian in Heb. 6 : 1, "Therefore leaving 
the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on 
unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of 
repentance from dead works, and of faith toward 



HOLINESS 83 



God." Again we read in 1 John 3 : 3, ''And every 
man that hath this hope in Him" (Christ the hope 
of glory) ''purifieth himself, even as He" (Christ) 
"is pure." 

The next question that may arise is, what is 
God's chief reason in commanding all Christians to 
be holy? The first is, because He is holy and He 
wants all of His children pure and holy in character 
like Himself, or else they could not live with Him. 
His second reason is, because heaven and all of its 
citizens are holy ; hence, you would be a black sheep 
if you were not pure and holy too. Heaven is only 
heaven to a holy soul. Heaven is a state as well as a 
place. Hell would be a heaven if the devil and his 
hosts were turned out, and if God and His saints 
would move there. On the other hand heaven would 
be a hell, if God and His saints would leave and let 
satan and sin come in. Therefore, God has strictly 
declared that nothing unholy should enter heaven ; so 
if you desire or expect to get there, you must seek to 
be made holy, right down here in this world, not at 
death, for death is an enemy, not a sanctifier. 1 Cor. 
15 : 26. 

Now, the next question that may arise is this: 
How is it obtained? We answer in a few words. 
First. You must know that you are converted ; not 
only was converted years ago, but you must be at the 
time you begin to seek holiness, and must not be back- 
slidden in heart, but must have the clear testimony 
of the Spirit, witnessing that you are God's child 
and have His approval at that moment. Now, if 
this is all clear, the next thing is to earnestly pray to 



84 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

God to sanctify and fill you with the Holy Ghost, and 
while you seek thus, you must believe that God is 
going to give it to you. Hence, you must continue 
to pray and fast and contend for it until it comes. 
You will know when it comes. So just continue to 
pray and expect it until it comes. Don't have any 
certain way planned for it to come, but be willing to 
accept it, and don't let up asking and contending for 
it until you know heyond a shadow of doubt that it 
has come. This is the all-important point : there are 
many who stop and claim it before they get it, or be- 
fore they have met the conditions of faith, and thus 
go on professing it without having it. So you wait 
until it comes. God will not grow impatient with 
you for so doing. And when it does come you will 
be the first person to know it. 



CHAPTEE XVIII 

PLAYING WITH CONVICTION 

"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall 
suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Pro v. 
29:1). 

What an awful statement! This is one of the 
most awful statements in the Bible. Oh, who can 
afford to put this to the test ? 

At the judgment day, sinners will stand speech- 
less at God's bar, having no excuse to plead for not 
being saved, since the Holy Ghost will be there to 
testify against them, and to the fact of their being 
warned all the way from the years of accountability 
to the grave. The Holy Ghost is now clearing His 
skirts of the blood of all men, so that if they are de- 
termined to go to hell, they will have to climb over 
all the prayers and sermons and convictions He could 
lay across their path from the cradle to their dying 
day. Notice the three ways in which the blessed 
Holy Ghost reproves men. 

First. Through His mercy. He appeals to their 
reason, showing them the unwiseness of living in the 
world unsaved, and exposed to the coming wrath. 
Next, He in mercy shows them the emptiness of all 
worldly pleasures, thus letting nothing satisfy their 
heart, though they go from pleasure to pleasure like 
a bee in a flower garden, seeking honey. But the 
blessed Spirit lets nothing satisfy, and everything 

85 



86 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

leaves the heart empty, disappointed and sad. The 
next way He reproves them in mercy, is by strongly 
drawing and impressing them a few times in life to 
give their hearts to God. I say, ^% few times/' for 
generally men are not strongly and deeply convicted 
for sin but only a few times in life, and if they can 
fight their way through those times without yield- 
ing to the Spirit, they have surely gained the right 
— ^way to hell. 

Second. God's next way of dealing with souls 
is: 1. Through His providence, namely, throwing 
meetings across their pathway, 2. Through awful 
dreams and visions of hell and the judgment. 3. 
Through daily incidents and accidents, such as earth- 
quakes, storms, lightning and thunder, close call of 
death, etc. 

Third. God's next way is through His judgments, 
such as failures in business, loss of loved ones, loss 
of health, etc. If all of these means through the 
operation of the blessed Spirit fail, you are beyond 
all doubt a lost man or a lost woman. ''He that 
hardeneth his neck," namely, turns a deaf ear to all 
of the entreaties of the Spirit, and spurns every op- 
portunity of getting saved, and 'braces himself against 
all efforts that Christian people make to get him to 
repent and get to God, "shall suddenly be destroyed.'' 
How often this has been verified in men and women 
who keep warding off conviction and fighting the 
Spirit, until they were found dead in bed, or dropped 
dead on the street, or were suddenly struck down 
by the railroad-cars, or by some sudden accident, 
and went from the bloom of life to hell, because they 



PLAYING WITH CONVICTION 87 

would not heed the warning voice of the Spirit. 
*^And that without remedy." A young lady insulted 
the Spirit and drove Him away from her because she 
wanted to dance rather than get religion. So He left 
her. But on her dying bed the folks tried to pray 
for her to get saved, but it was like praying to the 
moon. God would not be entreated for her ; she had 
sealed her doom in rejecting the Spirit the last time. 
So she died a lost soul. Oh, procrastinating friend ! 
Beware! Make haste to enter before the door of 
mercy closes, and closes to stay. 



CHAPTER XIX 

OUR PLACE OF PRIVILEGE 

"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them" 
(John 17:22). 

This is a portion of the Savior's high-priestly 
prayer which He delivered on the night of His be- 
trayal. It is quite evident, according to verse twenty, 
that He was praying not for the disciples alone, but 
for all those who should afterward believe on 
Him. 

The text, in a few words, reveals to us the ex- 
alted position we have received through the death 
and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If we could fully 
realize this, we w^ould never, for a moment, give place 
to discouragement, complaining nor shrinking, but 
would work and shout ourselves to death. We are 
too dull and short-sighted to see and to realize who 
and what we are. 

Webster says, "The word ^glory,' in this sense, 
means ''Honor, praise, renown, splendor, magnificence 
and celestial bliss.' " 

Now, in order that the reader may obtain a clearer 
conception of this high calling, let us make the text 
read as follows: "And the honor, the praise, the 
renown, the splendor, the magnificence and the celes- 
tial bliss that thou gavest me I have given them" 
(every believer). Eeader, is this too great for your 
faith to grasp ? Jesus Christ meant every word of it. 

88 



OUR PLACE OF PRIVILEGE 89 

Let US examine the subject more closely and note 
some of the things which constitute this ''glory. '^ 

1. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus 
Christ we are made not only children of a King but 
also children of the King of kings and Lord of lords. 
I did not say that sometime in the future we would 
be made children of the King of kings and Lord of 
heaven and earth, but ^^Now are we the sons of God." 
We are not only children, but also equal heirs with 
Jesus Christ. Every Christian in the world, no mat- 
ter how^ poor or humble, owns an equal share in 
every pearly gate, gold-paved street, diamond man- 
sion, and also every foot of transparent soil in the 
glory world. ''AH are yours; And ye are Christ's; 
and Christ is God's" (I'cor. 3:23). 

2. Christ has made us not only children of God 
and equal heirs of all things, but also His colaborers 
and fellow workers in redeeming a lost world. He 
has made every Christian in the world (in one sense) 
a savior. What saith the scriptures? "To wit, that 
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Him- 
self, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and 
hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though 
God did beseech you by us : we pray you in Christ^s 
STEAD, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5: 19, 20). 

3L a third office which Christ has given us, and 
which comes under the head of this "glory" is, He 
has made us His assistants in managing and control- 
ling the earth. He has put it within the power of 
man to stop the sun, pray down rain, divide the sea, 
and shut up heaven. Oh, hallelujah! If the re- 



90 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

ligious people nowadays really believed God, their 
crops would not suffer for the want of rain nor their 
fruit and vegetables be devoured by worms. God 
has put it within their power to pray down rain, pray 
away caterpillars, canker-worms, pestilence and 
diseases. We once moved into a house in Chicago 
that was alive with rats (so to speak), and w^e took 
the matter to God in earnest prayer, and every rat 
left the place. What would we think of a large bald 
eagle walking and tugging through the country afoot, 
while at his side hung large pinions that would make 
a fourteen-foot spread ? Would we not think strange- 
ly of him? Well, then, what about us being en- 
trusted with all this power and glory and yet plead- 
ing weakness and poverty? 

4. Again, God has made His children not only 
His assistants in engineering this old world, but also 
preservers of it. If it were not for God's people, the 
world would not continue an hour. Jesus said of 
them, ''Ye are the salt of the earth" (Matt. 5: 13). 

5. When Jesus came to earth God gave all 
power, both in heaven, earth and hell, into His hands. 
"I have the keys of hell and death." Therefore, He 
had power over the devil and all evil spirits. This 
is not all ; He has invested every one of His children 
with the power to rout every devil and evil spirit 
that may molest them. The decree reads as follows : 
"Kesist the devil and he will flee from you." One 
man of God is more than a match for all the com- 
bined forces of hell. O reader, do you believe it? 

6. Not only are the above facts true, but also is 
the fact that the chief and highest place in heaven is 



OUR PLACE OF PRIVILEGE 91 

provided by Jesus for the heirs of salvation. Listen 
to the voice of inspiration, '^'To him that overcometh 
will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as 1 
also overcame, and am set down with my Father in 
His throne." 

7. God's children not only will have the highest 
place in heaven, but also will assist the Lord Jesus 
in judging men and angels. What saith the scrip- 
tures on this point ? ''Do ye not know that the saints 
shall judge the w^orld? Know ye not that we shall 
judge angels?" (1 Cor. 6:2, 3). 



CHAPTER XX 

FOUR BRANDS OF HOLINESS 

"Make your calling and election sure" (2 Pet. 1:10). 

Bible students tell us that the word "calling/' in 
the text, means conversion, and the word ''election" 
means entire sanctification. If this be true, the text 
in modern language would read as follows : ^'Be sure 
your are saved and wholly sanctified/' There are 
many things in life about which we do not need to 
be certain; but when it comes to the two works of 
grace, we should be unmistakably certain. 

When the destroying angel was to pass over 
Egypt, no Israelite retired for the night or felt se- 
cure until he was certain that the blood had been 
placed upon the lintel of the door. 

Since there are many kinds of so-called holiness 
on the market to-day, I want to speak of and para- 
phrase on just four kinds; for it may be that some 
of our readers have gotten hold of the wrong kind, 
which, of course, would bring as much loss and disas- 
ter to the soul on judgment day as it would to get 
hold of the wrong kind of religion. 

The first grade of holiness that I have seen is 
^'surface holiness/^ Let us notice some earmarks of 
this kind of holiness. First. Its possessors are 
touchy and easily upset, especially around home, 
when things go wrong, or when misused. Of course, 
they apologize for these manifestations and attribute 

02 



FOUR BRANDS OF HOLINESS 93 

them to the condition of their nerves, the weather, 
etc.; but the trouble is this: They have never been 
delivered from inbred sin, the "old man'' — the carnal 
stump. It is true, they may have attended some popu- 
lar evangelist's meeting and gone to the altar to seek 
holiness ; but they did not die out, pray through and 
hold on until the fire fell, but simply took hold by 
dry, dead faith, which, of course, resulted in a dry, 
dead, powerless profession. Therefore, another de- 
ceived soul was added to the ''shallow holiness" 
movement. The next earmark of ''surface holiness" 
is in the fact that its adherents have frequent sea- 
sons of looking back. They do not see where it would 
be wrong for them to joke a little, dress like other 
worldlings, and buy ice-cream and refreshments on 
the Lord's day. They are also frequently troubled 
with that malady called "hard-headedness" and "self- 
will." 

The second grade of holiness afloat in the world 
to-day is ^^sour holiness/' This kind was once sweet 
and genuine, but by not being properly looked after 
by its possessors, it was exposed and spoiled. How- 
ever, they are not honest enough to confess it, but 
are still peddling it for sweet, fresh holiness. But it 
has an awfully rank smell, especially to the home 
folks, the servant-girl and the hired man. It also 
smells a little tainted to the horse, the cat and the 
yard dog. They do not understand how you can kick, 
cuff, jerk and beat them around, and at the same time 
be "saved and sanctified,'^ as you claim. It may be 
necessary right here to mention a few fruits of "sour 
holiness." They are as follows : Blue, gloomy, mel- 



94 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

ancholy seasons; a harsh, rabid, driving spirit; 
obstinacy; a grouchy and touchy disposition; also 
frequent seasons of grumbling. 

The third brand of holiness that is flooding the 
market to-day, is ''tied-up, hidebound holiness." 
Those in possession of this brand are quite orthodox, 
radical, plain and conscientious. But, somehow, 
they do not strike fire in their prayers, songs, testi- 
monies, exhortations and sermons. They are not 
free and natural. Sometimes they go so far as to 
shout, saying, ^'Hallelujah,'' and run up and down the 
aisle; but their hallelujah is squeaky, their shout 
clumsy and their run unduly proportioned. They 
either overdo or underdo; therefore, they cause dis- 
cord. The fourth and last grade to which we give 
space here is the '^genuine holiness,^' that which keeps 
the soul clean, sweet, happy and free three hundred 
and sixty-five days every year, and three hundred and 
sixty-six days when it is leap-year. 

Give me holiness that will endure, 
Give me holiness that holds secure, 
Give me holiness that keeps me pure 
Ev'ry blessed day the whole year thro'. 

Give me holiness that's unsecrete, 
Give me holiness that makes complete, 
Give me holiness that keeps me sweet 
Ev'ry blessed day the whole year thro'. 

Give me holiness that brings me rest, 
Give me holiness that stands the test. 
Give me holiness that keeps me blest 
Ev'ry blessed day the whole year thro'. 



FOUR BRANDS OF HOLINESS 95 

Give me holiness that's void of ire, 
Give me holiness that will inspire, 
Give me holiness that keeps on fire 
Ev'ry blessed day the whole year thro'. 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE WORM BENEATH THE SURFACE 

While traveling through the fruit belt, in the 
State of Michigan, we noticed several trees dying in 
spots, but what the trouble was we were unable to 
find out for sometime. However, some months later, 
we chanced to be in Michigan during the time the 
growers were pruning and trimming their trees. One 
day we noticed a man going from tree to tree, digging 
about its roots, and we inquired why he did so. He 
said, ^'Come, and I will show you.'' He went to a 
small peach tree and began digging about its roots. 
After he had removed the loose earth, he began to 
scrape the trunk of the tree which had been beneath 
the surface, and, then, with his fingers, pulled a 
worm from under the bark. ''This worm,'' said he, 
"is what is causing the trees to die in spots." 

We have also noticed this gradual death in the 
life of many of God's most fruitful, spiritual trees, 
but could not explain the trouble. However, since 
discovering what was causing the death of the trees, 
we have arrived at the conclusion that it must be a 
worm beneath the surface. 

Now, reader, before proceeding to look for the 
worm, it may be necessary to point out a few things 
that indicate the fact that there is a worm at the 
bottom of your spiritual life. 1. The first is the loss of 
the spirit of prayer. You may still keep up the form, 

96 



THE WORM BENEATH THE SURFACE 97 

but the relish, the joy and the juice are gone. 2. A 
spell of spiritual dryness has settled over your life 
and, despite of all your human efforts, it will not be 
chased away. 3. An absence of inward liberty, 
clearness, assurance and soul satisfaction is also a 
sign of the worm beneath. 4. The fact that you are 
so easily tried, offended and stirred up is proof suffi- 
cient that there is a worm beneath. 

We will now proceed to mention a few things that 
may constitute this worm. While we do this, will 
you please be judgment-day honest? 1. Short talk 
and scolding in the home life may be the worm that 
is eating the vitals out of your spiritual life and 
leaving you powerless. 2. A readiness to carry 
news, tattling, talebearing, backbiting and criticiz- 
ing others may be the worm that is working death in 
your life. 3. Pride in little things, such as putting 
on laces, jewelry, rosettes, using perfume, curling the 
hair and powdering the face, may also be the worm 
of destruction. 4. Worldly-mindedness, too much 
newspaper and magazine reading, too much worldly 
company, too much unnecessary traveling and sight- 
seeing, and too much social gossiping. 5. Too much 
self-indulgence, too much laughter, too much famil- 
iarity, looseness and association with the opposite 
sex. 6. Shirking the cross, shrinking from duty, mak- 
ing excuses, failing to testify and pray in public and 
yielding to doubt and discouragement. 7. Refined 
compromise, failing to obey the checks of the Spirit, 
silencing conscience, trifling with and backing up on 
light, cherishing an unforgiving spirit, and coming 
too close to temptation. 



98 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

Eeader, if the blessed Holy Spirit, through this 
little message, has succeeded in finding a worm at 
the bottom of your life, please destroy it at once. 

Before closing this chapter it may be well to in- 
struct the reader how to destroy the worm and also 
how to regain spiritual health and growth. First. Get 
down before God and humbly confess it and implore 
His forgiveness. Also seriously promise him that 
you will never again be guilty of any of the above 
mentioned charges. Second. Take the wrench of 
^'Watchfulness'^ and tighten up every loose screw in 
your entire demeanor, namely, secret prayer, conver- 
sation, and tithing; also carefully guard against 
all forms of evil speaking, back-biting and lightness. 
If these rules are carefully complied with, it will 
only be a short while before your tree will take on 
life and bring forth new foliage and fruit. 



CHAPTER XXII 
NEW YEAR REFLECTIONS 

We're one more season nearer 

Our long eternal home; 
And one brief year of service, 

Is now forever gone. 

We're one more season nearer 

^The ending of the fight; 
When war will cease forever, 

The wrong against the right. 

We're one more season nearer 
That vast and dismal main ; 

And much in need of reapers 
To reap the golden grain. 

We're one more season nearer 
Our long and lonesome sleep ; 

Beneath the sighing willow 
Or in the briny deep. 

We're one more season nearer 
The close of ^'gospel day"; 

When men shall quake with terror 
And to the mountains pray. 

We're one more season nearer 

The great tribunal throne, 
Where Christ shall bid us 'Welcome," 

Or with contempt disown. 

99 



CHAPTEK XXIII 
THE KINGS IN CANAAN 

"All the kings thirty and one" (Josh. 12: 24). 

The blessed Holy Spirit intends that we should 
receive some spiritual help from every passage in the 
Bible, and we will if we live where He can teach us. 

If we accept the general view of the holiness 
preachers, teachers, and hymn-writers, Egypt is a 
type of the bondage of sin ; the wilderness, a type of 
justification; and the land of Canaan, a type of en- 
tire sanctification. If we accept this general view, 
the thirty-one kings, met in the land of Canaan, can 
not be symbols of the fine line of carnality, as some 
writers suppose. Entire sanctification means, hav- 
ing the heart purified from every vestige of carnality 
and made whiter than snow. Every soul that has 
the experience of entire holiness is as free from car- 
nality (not infirmities) as he will be when he has 
been in heaven a billion years. Eph. 5 : 27. 

These thirty-one kings over in the land of 
Canaan and their tenacious efforts to prevent the 
Israelites from getting settled, beautifully typify or 
represent the different spirits that attack souls after 
the soul is sanctified wholly, and that strive to pre- 
vent the soul getting established in the experience. 
Every sanctified soul in the country has, in some de- 
gree, come in contact with these opposing spirits. 
They are not in our hearts, but war without. You 

100 



THE KINGS IN CANAAN 101 

will notice they are not thirty-one subjects but kings, 
indicating the fact that when they get proper hold of 
a soul, they rule. We have seen many clean-cut, 
sanctified persons influenced by a strange spirit and 
turned from the real track. Oh, "tell it not in Gath !" 
There are thirty-one kings, namely, there is one for 
each day of the month ; therefore, we need not lay our 
armor down nor relax our vigil. We will not take 
the time and space to write a paraphrase on the life 
of each of these kings ; but since it is the beginning 
of the year, we will just take twelve, one for each 
month. My effort shall be to describe these spirits, 
and also to mention some of the various ways in 
which they will attack us as sanctified people, this 
New Year. 

1. The first king that we meet, after getting into 
the land of Canaan, is old King Discouragement, 
After we are filled with the Spirit and begin to con- 
demn sin in high and low places, and also cut loose 
from clubs, socials, recitals, literary societies, etc., 
our carnal friends will leave us so rapidly that it 
will almost cause our heads to swim. We will won- 
der why they do not come with us, as they once did. 
Neither do they call us over the 'phone, and even 
when on the street they avoid us by crossing over. 
Therefore, right at this point, old King Discourage- 
ment will step in and try to persuade us to give up 
the thing. 

2. The next tall, stately king, met in the land, is 
King '^JonahJ' This old king is fully aware of the 
fact that he can not induce us to openly transgress ; 
therefore, his only hope is, to induce us, in some way, 



102 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

to shirk duty, dodge the cross, and "excuse" our- 
selves from leading a meeting, etc., and in this way 
get lean in our souls. 

3. The third powerful and influential king met 
in the land, by the newly-sanctified soul, is old King 
^'Domestic Trouble,'' It is astonishing how the devil 
gets after souls, on this line, after they get sanctified. 
The trouble will be because the companion, namely, 
the husband or wife, is not sanctified; and, worse 
still, because he or she is bitterly opposed to sancti- 
flcation, and declares if the other party does not re- 
nounce it, he or she is going to leave the other and 
obtain a divorce. If the unsanctified soul does not 
do this, he or she will become untrue and commence 
to stray from home at night, a thing which he or she 
has never done before; or, otherwise, he or she will 
set in for a life of long abuse and persecution. If 
the person who gets sanctified is single, then the 
devil will set in to marry him or her off too quickly 
or to the wrong party, or to a divorced party, or 
something of the sort, and thus cause him or her 
much trouble. We are thankful to God that this 
King can also be overcome by much prayer, discre- 
tion and a close walk with God. 

4. Old King Debt is the next crowned-head 
gentleman that introduces himself to the newcomer 
in Canaan. He agrees that it is no sin to be in debt ; 
therefore, he will try to rush Spirit-filled souls into 
debt up to their necks, either for a farm, a house and 
lot, new household furniture, an automobile, religious 
books or something of the kind. The devil is aware 
of the fact that debt distresses and brings the soul 



THE KINGS IN CANAAN 103 

into bondage and destroys its heavenly mind. Debt 
paves the way for the following sins : Letting-down, 
lying, stealing and murdering. 

5. King Haste is the next reverential gentleman 
that meets the newly-filled soul. He encourages him 
to immediately act upon every impression, convic- 
tion, dream or vision, without either praying over it 
or seeking counsel from experienced, level-headed 
saints. This old deceiver has rushed many an honest 
soul into more trouble in an hour than they could 
undo and get out of in ten years. The injunction, 
^^He that believeth shall not make haste," is a safe 
one to follow. 

6. King Rabid is also quite a popular character 
around the border-land of Canaan, If souls will get 
sanctified and take their stand against sin and 
wickedness, he likes to influence them to do it in a 
rash, wild, denunciatory and rahid way ; for he knows 
if they pursue that course, they will lose the blessed 
Holy Spirit out of their hearts and will thus become 
wrong like the people they are trying to help. We 
have long since learned that we can not get any one 
to accept sanctification by hammering, club-throwing 
and driving. We have also realized the fact that if 
people are to become hungry for holiness, they will 
have to see something in us different from what they 
possess. 

7. King Compromise has his office also right near 
the ferry in Canaan. His chief business is to get 
souls to ease up a little and not testify so strongly 
against tobacco, worldliness, lodges, labor-unions, 
Sunday traveling, life insurance, picnics, church en- 



104 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

tertainments and such things. He argues that one is 
not to make one's self a nuisance simply because 
one is sanctified. He insists that it is not necessary 
to leave the popular churches when we get sanctified, 
but is all right to stay right there among the tobacco 
chewers, liars, adulterers, beer drinkers and gam- 
blers, and get them sanctified ; but God's Bible says, 
"Come out from among them'' (2 Cor. 6: 17). 

8. King Imitate is the shrewdest and most wide- 
awake king met in Canaan. He has a holiness that 
looks just like the real thing. It makes people sing, 
testify, shout, pray, exhort and preach. It does 
everything for them but take the "old man" out. 
And the most remarkable thing about this king is, 
he has more followers than God's true Joshua. 

9. The newly-sanctified soul finds it a little diffi- 
cult to pass old King Disappointment^ for the fol- 
lowing reason : He did not expect to meet such a man 
as this in Canaan. Notice a few of the things that 
shock the sanctified soul, (a) He is badly disappoint- 
ed on finding some hypocrites in Canaan. Before 
entering the land, he saw the happy band of sancti- 
fied people, and thought it was a matter of impos- 
sibility for a hypocrite to be in their midst. He 
thought the whole band was almost ready to go to 
heaven by dry land ; but on getting into Canaan and 
finding hypocrites in the band, it was almost more 
than he could endure, (b) The next thing that 
shocked him considerably was infirmities in those 
to whom he had looked up, and whom he had con- 
sidered the best people in the world. He now dis- 
covers that they do not all see alike, believe alike, etc. 



THE KINGS IN CANAAN 105 

Some pray too loud, while others testify too long. 
Some eat one thing and some another. Some believe 
in immersion and others do not. (c) The next thing 
that jarred him considerably was this; He had pre- 
viously thought that the sanctified people were most- 
ly the learned, the well-bred and the genteel; but to 
his surprise the greater part of them are common, il- 
literate people, namely, teamsters, washerwomen, 
porters, farmers and servants. Paul said not many 
mighty are called. What shocked him still more, was 
the fact that so many cranks^ fanatics, extremists 
and religious tramps identified themselves with the 
movement. It took sometime for him to awake to the 
fact that every one who followed the sanctified people 
and professed the same as they did, were not in pos- 
session of the experience. 

10. King Fanaticism is also a very prominent 
king in Canaan. This king believes in going too far, 
pushing things over, and exceeding the Spirit. He has 
not only a warm imagination but also a heated one, 
which, like a hot box on a car-wheel, gets hotter and 
hotter, until it throws off a flame and stops a whole 
train of cars, or causes death and destruction. So 
a fanatical person, who was once cold, then warm, 
and then was pushed^ over by the devil in "excessive 
enthusiasm/^ runs ahead of the Spirit of God, ahead 
of the spirit of the meeting, ahead of the chosen 
leader, and becomes like a hot box, setting things 
ablaze with the wrong kind of fire. 

11. King Self -glory is another one who puts up 
a strong fight to prevent newcomers from settling 
in the land. He is a great man to praise and to com- 



106 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

mend folks. He strives to make them believe that 
thej prayed a wonderful prayer, gave a wonderful 
testimony, and preached an excellent sermon. He is 
also a great fellow to call people's attention to their 
gifts, talents, usefulness, importance, attainments, 
experience, etc. But in order to retain the blessing 
of holiness, we must rudely withstand him on all 
of these lines, and we must stay in the dust. 

12. King Pliable and Runabout is the next king 
that opposes newcomers. His greatest effort is to 
prevent souls from settling down and joining a good, 
clean church where they can receive the proper in- 
struction and become established. He keeps them on 
a chase all the time, from one church to another, 
from one mission to another, and from one camp- 
meeting to another. They are like something pliable, 
now with everybody and then with nobody. They 
can not be depended upon. They will come into a 
meeting and testify, jump and yell, but will not help 
to lift any of the burden or assume any responsibility. 
They are like fleas; when you attempt to put your 
hands on them for a little financial assistance, they 
have jumped clear over to the other side of town to 
another mission. O Lord, deliver us from these 
twelve kings, and also from the other nineteen, lest 
we be overcome and lose our way! 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE DANGER OF PARTIAL SURRENDER 

"But a certain man named Ananias, with SappMra his 
wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price" 
(Acts 5:1, 2). 

Good would it be if Ananias and his wife were 
the only people who tried to work this scheme on the 
God of heaven ! Truly, this is one of the most danger- 
ous things that a soul can do, namely, trifle with God 
and convictions. It is to be remembered that there 
are two things that God utterly will not do. First. 
He will not share our affections with any creature 
or thing. He must have the whole man, the whole 
woman; and if we will not surrender all, He will 
not accept any. Second. We can not jew Him down 
on His prices and conditions. Men have tried this 
in every age of the world, but to their own destruc- 
tion. Friend, if God is making any demand on you 
to give up some object, or pursue some course, or 
make some confession, why, you might as well begin 
it at once, and cease to try to bring Him to your 
terms; you might as well try to upset Pike's Peak 
with a broom straw. Eemember, God's laws and 
conditions for man are immutably fixed; hence, you 
can no more bring Him to your terms than you can 
change the course of the Amazon River. 

God has erected a monument of His judgments on 
partial surrender in every dispensation of the world. 

107 



108 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

Let US now mention them, and also spiritnally para- 
phrase them. In Gen. 19 : 26, we read the account of 
Lot's wife looking back and becoming a pillar of salt. 
It is to be remembered that it was not so much the 
looking back that provoked Jehovah's wrath, but it 
was the principle that prompted her to look back; 
that was what grieved God. To make it still plainer, 
it was the love of Sodom and its vanities and idols 
that caused her to look back. The truth of the mat- 
ter was simply this: She loved those things more 
than she did God. She feared God, but loved and 
adored the wealth and beauties of Sodom. So it is 
with millions of church-members to-day. They fear 
God and go to church and sing and pray, but their 
affinity with the world and its gods, such as fashion, 
lodges, tobacco, jewelry, etc., has never been broken ; 
they worship them with the cream of their affections, 
and the curse of God is resting upon them as much 
as it did on Lot's wife, only the execution has not 
taken place. 

The next monument is seen in the days of Israel, 
after they had crossed the Jordan (a half-hearted, 
sanctified professor), where Achan stole the pieces of 
money and the golden wedge and hid them under his 
tent. Josh. 7 : 11-20. Is not this an awful picture 
of the hidden, unconfessed, bosom sins that people 
are harboring in their hearts? Yet they are going 
out to battle, namely, going to church, praying, sing- 
ing and preaching, etc., with ill will, or lust, or mal- 
ice, or prejudice, or deceit, or revenge, or covetousness 
buried in their hearts. Oh, is there any wonder Is- 
rael is defeated and has become a laughing stock to 



THE DANGER OF PARTIAL SURRENDER 109 

her enemies? Oh, friend, let the last thing go and 
swing clear for God and souls. 

Third. The rich, young ruler spoken of in Mark 
10 : 17-20, who refused to sell all and follow Jesus, 
felt that it was not necessary to make such a 
sacrifice, because he deemed it no sin to be rich. 
Could not this be classed in with the legalized busi- 
ness sins about which men are contending with God 
these days, such as the sale of tobacco, Sunday work, 
Sunday excursions, etc.? But, friend, God accuses 
you of ''keeping back part of the price." 

The next is Ananias and Sapphira who agreed 
among themselves to lie to God. Could not this be 
classed in with the many party sins that are in the 
church to-day, where there are some who contend 
for dancing, festivals and shows, while others con- 
tend for their tobacco, and some for a little wine 
and beer, while another part stand for true, clean 
Christian living? Oh, brother! cease your contend- 
ing with God, and let Him have His way in every 
deportment of your life, and "You will be pleasing 
to Him and equal to angels and mighty to devils.'^ 
Oh, let us be out and out at any cost! If we have 
made some past mistakes, let us forget them and in 
the future press on to be our best for God and souls. 



CHAPTEK XXV 
MUST WE SHOUT 

This question has caused much discussion in the 
churches of to-day. Ever since the older class of the 
Lord\s followers died off, and the younger generation 
took possession, this question has been discussed; 
not by people who were born again ; not by those who 
"came in by the door into the sheepfold." Oh, no; 
but by those who have "climbed up some other way." 
There is no man who really enjoys saving grace who 
can speak against joy and emotion, though it ascend 
to the loudest voices of praise or make one leap and 
dance before the Lord. When individuals complain 
against demonstration, they are either backslidden 
from God or have never been converted. Backsliders 
and hypocrites always have opposed shouting and 
giving God glory. Of course, we will acknowledge 
that religion does not consist in shouting, for a man 
may shout and not have any grace at all ; but we do 
say that if a man has grace, he will manifest it in 
some way. He will either shed tears of joy, laugh 
aloud, run around or clap his hands. Yes, he will 
make it known to the world in one way or another 
that he enjoys God's grace. I venture to say, he who 
never feels any of the joy of the Lord, fails to possess 
it, for "He that hath the Son, hath life." "The joy 
of the Lord is your strength" (Neh. 8: 10). Let us 
see what the Bible says on this subject of shouting 

110 



MUST WE SHOUT 111 

and praising God. "So that the people could not dis- 
cern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise 
of weeping'^ (Ezra 3: 13). "Cry out and shout, thou 
inhabitant of Zion" (Isa. 12:6). ''Make a joyful 
noise unto the Lord, all the earth : make a loud noise" 
(Psa. 98 : 4) . ''And he answered and said unto them, 
* * * if these should hold their peace, the stones 
would immediately cry out" (Luke 19:40). "And 
he leaping up stood * * * walking, and leaping, 
and praising God" (Acts 3:8). 

I believe we have quoted enough passages to si- 
lence the church, scribes and Pharisees. In all ages 
of the church, whenever people would get Bible salva- 
tion, it created a stir, an emotion, or noise. The 
Jews said Peter and the other disciples were filled 
with wine on the day of Pentecost. I have very little 
faith in a conversion where a woman or man is not 
overshadowed with the power of God. Jeremiah 
says, "See, and ask for the old paths" (6: 16). We 
will now see what our forefathers have to say about 
emotion. 

Wesley : "God was with us ; some fell prostrate 
on the ground, others burst out as with one consent 
in loud praises to God." 

Mr. Flavin: "I knew a man that, as he was 
traveling along with his mind closely fixed on the 
great and astonishing things of another world, his 
thought began to swell like the water in Ezekiel's 
vision, until it became an overflowing flood, so that 
he lost sight of this world for hours.'^ 

Mrs. Hester Ann Eogers: "I was deeply pene- 
trated with His presence and stood as if unable to 



112 FRAGMENTS FROM TIIE KING'S TABLE 

move, and was insensible of all around me. I sank 
down motionless, being unable to sustain the weight 
of His glorious presence.'' 

Eev. J. A. Wood: "I had always been much 
prejudiced against persons losing their strength ; con- 
sequently, as might be expected, when the Holy Ghost 
came upon me in the stand, surrounded by some 
thirty or forty preachers and three thousand people, 
it was God's order to take control of both soul and 
body, and swallow me up in His presence. After 
about three hours, I regained strength to walk to the 
tent." 

So, reader, this is the way Bible religion worked 
on the saints of old, and it will work the same way 
on you when you get it. 



CHAPTEK XXVI 

THE GREAT PREPARATION 

"Prepare to meet thy God" (Amos 4: 12). 

There are some things in life we are not compelled 
to do. We may do them or leave them undone. 
Again, there are some duties we can let our friends 
attend to for us, but the all-important matter of get- 
ting ready for eternity must be attended to individ- 
ually. Our text says, 'Trepare.'^ Now, a five-year- 
old child knows what that means. If we are going 
to have company from a distant clime, the faithful 
housewife prepares the house by cleaning the wind- 
ows, laundering the curtains, having the rugs shaken, 
polishing the silver, etc. If we are to go on a long 
trip to the seashore, or across the water, or even on 
a few weeks' vacation, we prepare for the trip by 
purchasing new linen, new hosiery, etc. We also 
engage some one to look after our business during 
our absence. Again, if we are in school and examina- 
tion time is drawing near, how careful we are in 
preparing for the exercises. Well, if we go to all of 
this trouble to prepare for earthly guests or a short 
trip, from which we expect to return in a few months, 
or spend so much time preparing for exercises in 
school, how much more careful should we be in pre- 
paring for the long trip to eternity, from which we 
shall never return? Next, we will notice what we 
are to prepare. 

113 



114 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

First. We must prepare life's record for the 
close examination at the judgment bar by Jehovah's 
all-seeing eje. You must remember, friend, whether 
you feel capable of writing a book or not, that there 
is a book being written on your life; every day you 
live finishes up one page, and in this book is written 
your every deed, which is daily turned in at the bar 
of God (so to speak). Now, it may be that you have 
been a very wicked man or woman in your life, and 
have committed many sins, some of which you have 
long forgotten, but God has them recorded in His 
book. Now, there is a way of preparing your ac- 
count while here, so as to stand clear when you go 
up there ; and that is, by praying to Jesus Christ and 
getting your whole book of past sins and misdoings 
blotted out. Then, when you are tried by that holy 
God, and He looks over the book, there will be noth- 
ing recorded against you. Oh, friend, do attend to 
this matter at once! 

Second. The next thing that you are to prepare 
is your heart and disposition. You must pray and 
call on Jesus until he cleanses your heart from all 
anger, pride, jealousy, impatience, deceit, idolatrous 
love and every unholy temper ; and gives you a holy, 
harmless disposition so that you may be able to live 
with holy angels in a holy heaven. If you fail to 
make this preparation, you will be shut out of 
heaven, no matter who you are, or what you profess, 
or what you have done. The Bihle says, "There shall 
in no wise enter into it" (heaven) "anything that de- 
fileth" (Kev. 21:27). 

Third. Next, you must prepare your robe for 



THE GEE AT PREPARATION 115 

the marriage supper of the Lamb. Kemember, your 
character is the robe which you are to wear in 
heaven. Eev. 7 : 14. A man's reputation is what the 
people say and think of him, but his character is 
what he really is at heart. Therefore, your character 
must be washed from all sin stains and made whiter 
than snow, in the blood of Jesus ; and you must live 
a clean, holy life every day, right down here, in this 
world. Eph. 5 : 25, 2Q, 

The question may now arise. How may we know 
the exact requirement in this preparation ? One may 
think he is making the necessary preparation by do- 
nating to an orphan asylum; another, by building a 
church ; another, by being baptized or confirmed ; an- 
other, by being sprinkled with holy water. We an- 
swer with the words of the Son of God: "Search 
the scriptures" (the Bible), for in it is laid down all 
the rules and conditions of this great preparation 
for eternity. 

We now mention the exact conditions of this 
great preparation. There are three unvarying rules 
to be complied with. 

The first is "Kepentance." Jesus says, "Except 
ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13: 3). 
Now, repentance means much more than is generally 
taught by the nineteenth and twentieth century 
preachers. It is generally taught that repentance 
only means, to feel a little sorry and turn over a new 
leaf. But the repentance that I read of in my Bible 
has three unseparable fruits, namely : 1. Godly sor- 
row for sin. 2 Cor. 7 : 10. 2. Confession and restitu- 
tion. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: 



116 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have 
mercy" (Prov. 28:13). ''And Zaccheus stood, and 
said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my 
goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any- 
thing from any man by false accusation, I restore 
him fourfold" (Luke 19:8). 3. Kenunciation 
of all sinful practises and habits; a turning from 
all that belongs to the devil and hell, such as lying, 
stealing, gambling, cheating. Sabbath desecration, 
scolding, backbiting, drinking, unclean practises in 
all forms; and turning face about, and doing and 
living righteousness on every line. This is what God 
holds a man to before he gets converted. Listen to 
His Word : "Wash ye, make you clean ; put away the 
evil of your doings from before miue eyes ; cease to 
do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the 
oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 
Come now, and let us reason together" (about re- 
ligion), * * * '"though your sins be as scarlet, they 
shall 'be'' (notice, it has not been yet, but He says 
^' shall he," which shows us very clearly that He is not 
a Christian yet) '*as white as snow ; though they be 
red like crimson, they shall he as wool" (Isa. 1: 16- 
18). 

Second. The next rule to be complied with in 
this great preparation is found in St. John 3:3: 
"Except a man be born again, he can not see the 
kingdom of God." The false teachers are telling the 
people these days, all that is necessary to become a 
Christian is to sign a card and give the preacher 
their hands and join the church. Others are telling 
them just to believe on Jesus with a head belief, and 



THE GREAT PREPARATION 117 

simply to clahn religion, saying that they don't have 
to get any witness. But, reader, I declare unto you, 
before God and the angels, if you have not received 
the testimony of God's Spirit in your heart, bearing 
witness that you are accepted by God into His fam- 
ily, you are a deceived soul, and on your way to hell 
with the harlots and cutthroats. The Bible says, 
"Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is 
none of His'' (Eom. 8:9). Now, if you "are none of 
His" you must belong to the devil, for there are only 
two masters, namely, God and the devil. 

Third. The next and last rule to be complied 
with in this preparation, is to be sanctified and made 
holy, after the time of receiving the new birth. God 
says, ^"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, with- 
out which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12: 14). 
Again, in Matt. 5:8, we read, ^'Blessed are the pure 
in heart" (or holy in heart) : "for they shall see God." 
You may say, "Our preacher says, 'we can't live 
holy.' " But who are you to believe, God or the 
preacher ? If you are going to heaven, you must be- 
lieve God. If you are going to hell, you can believe 
the deceiving, money-loving preacher. The reason he 
fights against being holy, and pleads for sin, is be- 
cause he wants to live in some sin. He knows, if the 
folks get their eyes opened to God's Word, and get 
saved from all sin, they would cease to buy tobacco 
and whisky for him; and he would either have to get 
saved from all sin and get sanctified wholly, or resign 
from the ministry and go to teaming or digging 
ditches or carrying a hod. It would be far better for 
him and for immortal souls if he was doing this now 



118 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

instead of deceiving souls with his lies and smooth 
sayings and leading them down to a lake of fire and 
brimstone. 

Now, friend and fellow traveler to the judgment, 
I have told you, in a simple scriptural way, the re- 
quired preparation for heaven. Of course, you can 
become a church-member without making this prepa- 
ration, but you can not become a candidate for 
heaven without it. Psa. 24 : 4. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

GRAY HAIRS 

"Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth 
it not : yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he 
knoweth not" (Hos. 7:9). 

The Prophet Hosea, seeing the spiritual decline 
in Ephraim, was constrained to use the words of our 
text. But leaving that age in which he lived, and ap- 
plying the passage to the people of the twentieth cen- 
tury, we hope to uncover the '^golden wedge" and the 
^'Babylonish garment" which have shorn the power 
from so many of God's giants, and have caused them 
to become as other men. 

Of course, many things are said to-day about 
backslidden churches, preachers and members who 
have returned to open sin and worldly folly; but 
there is a more refined class of backsliders to-day, as 
there was in the days of the prophet. 

We have known people who once were burning 
and shining lights for God, and who made all who 
came in contact with them hungry for the blessing 
which they enjoyed. They seemed to walk on earth 
and live in heaven; their faces were at all times 
lighted up with the glory of God; and when they 
prayed, preached or testified, it seemed to touch the 
power-house above, and the power and glory came 
streaming down. Oh, how they walked with God! 
Souls were constantly being saved through their in- 

119 



120 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

strumentalities. To spend an hour or more in prayer 
was their delight; to read God's Word was the joy 
of their souls ; to tell some precious soul about Jesus, 
was more desirable than meat and drink. They 
prayed without ceasing and in everything gave 
thanks; they denied themselves, taking up their 
crosses daily ; not in one or two things alone, but in 
all things — eating, drinking, sleeping, dressing, talk- 
ing, spending their money, attending meetings 
through all kinds of weather, etc. 

These very people have been shorn of their power, 
their love, their zeal and energy ; yet they did not be- 
come outbreaking sinners. 

First. The prophet says, "Strangers have de- 
voured his strength" (speaking from a spiritual 
standpoint). Little things that they did not notice; 
speaking when the Spirit forbade ; not exhorting sin- 
ners when He said to do so ; not giving money ; not 
missionarying ; or not visiting the sick when the 
Spirit bade them. Yea, truly, "strangers have de- 
voured their strength," and they have become weak 
and powerless as other men. 

Second. "And he knoweth it not." Yes, they are 
as men dozing, not seeming to realize their coldness, 
their powerless prayers, their dead sermons and dry 
testimonies. They seem to be in a swoon by the 
chloroform of the devil, and yet they "knoweth it not." 

Third. "Yea, gray hairs are here and there upon 
him." When we see gray hairs in one's head, it gen- 
erally denotes decay. They do not come out in one 
bunch, but "here and there." So it is with the once- 
spiritual man; if his decay was in one outbreaking 



GRAY HAIRS 121 



thing, he would realize what the trouble was ; but the 
decay is "/tere and there.'' He does not enjoy spend- 
ing an hour with God now, as in former days, nor 
reading the Bible. He is now too busy to read a 
chapter and have an old-time family altar-service, 
but hurries through it by reading the shortest psalm 
in the Bible. Where he used to rise early and talk 
with God a long time, before his mind should become 
filled with the cares of the day, he now lies in bed 
until business requires him to rise. Where he used 
to have days set apart for fasting and prayer, his ex- 
cuse now is that his work is too hard or his body too 
much run down to fast, as he did in former days. 
Where his heart used to long for and look with de- 
light to the prayer-meeting, class-meeting and the 
preaching service, he does not now love to go, but 
goes simply because it is his duty. Where he used 
to feel like testifying two or three times in the meet- 
ing, he now does not care to testify at all; and where 
his heart used to run over with the "hallelujahs" and 
the "amens" through the meeting, he now has to be 
primed with the singing of two or three songs before 
he can say "amen." I say with the prophet, "gray 
hairs are here and there upon him." 

Fourth. "Yet he knoweth not." Hundreds of 
people are in this state of spiritual decline and do 
not seem to realize it. They know something is 
wrong, but know not what it is, because they fail to 
see it. 

Reader, if you are in this condition, "gray hairs 
are here and there upon you," yet you seem to "know 
it not." 



CHAPTEK XXVIII 

WHAT GOD HATH DONE 

"What hath God wrought?" (Num. 23:23). "So that 
they" (men) "are without excuse" (Rom. 1:20). 

Truly, God, in constructing the plan of salvation, 
has left man without a single excuse. He has done 
all that infinite wisdom and boundless love could de- 
vise. The reason why the proclamation, ''Be ye holy," 
causes such an uproar among the people nowadays, 
is because they get their eyes on circumstances and 
human weakness rather than on the great God. Our 
God is not like some merchants who have the greater 
part of their stock in the show-window, but have no 
cai)ital to perpetuate their business. He is Jehovah, 
the self-existing God ; Shaddai, the Almighty ; / am 
that I am J namely, all you need. Therefore, He is 
well able to help us meet every demand. 

I shall now attempt, in brief, to call your atten- 
tion to the wonderful provision God has made for 
mankind to perform this high and holy calling. 

1. He has sent His Son to go over and carefully 
test every inch of the track of human existence. He 
"was in all points tempted like as we are." He passed 
through the vale of poverty and privation ; drank to 
its dregs the bitterest cup of sorrow; endured the 
severest storm of persecution; and, last of all, drank 
the briny cup of death. Mankind has no tests, trials 
or difiiculties about which He does not know, for He 

122 



WHAT GOD HATH DONE 123 

has experienced them all in their rudest form and 
has come in contact with people having all kinds of 
dispositions. 

2. He has also provided a remedial wash, which, 
when properly applied, changes the vilest sinner into 
a saint, washes the foulest harlot as white as snow, 
and makes the most crooked and dishonest man in 
the world as honest as an angel. "Though your sins 
be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though 
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isa. 
1:18). 

3. He has put into man's heart an engine of the 
same potver^ capacity and size as the one that was 
in Jesus Christ, the Eedeemer of the world. "And 
Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from 
Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilder- 
ness" (Luke 4:1). "And they were all filled with 
the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:4). 

4. He has made the system for communicating 
with heaven so perfect that we can send a message 
and obtain an answer in the same second. "Call unto 
me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and 
mighty things, which thou knowest not" ( Jer. 33 : 3). 
"And it shall come to pass, that before they call^ I 
will answer ; and while they are yet speaking, I will 
hear" (Isa. 65:24). 

5. He has made salvation "livable" in all coun- 
tries and climes, and also under every circumstance 
and condition. It is wind-proof, water-proof, fire- 
proof, starvation-proof, devil-proof and death-proof. 

6. He has put the conditions of receiving it 
within the reach of every human being that will ever 



124 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

live, whether they be rich or poor, white or black, 
old or young. '^Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye 
to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, 
buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without 
money and without price" (Isa. 55: 1). 

7. He has also left in our possession the key to 
His exhaustive storehouse of grace. The name of 
this key is "Faith." Listen to the orders which He 
has left on record in the day-book (Bible) : "And 
tvhatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, 
that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Tf ye 
shall ASK ANYTHING YD. my name, i will do it" (John 
14:13, 14). "If thou canst believe, all things are 
possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23). "For 
verily I say unto you. That whosoever shall say unto 
this mountain. Be thou removed, and be thou cast 
into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but 
shall believe that those things which he saith shall 
come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith" 
(Mark 11:23). 

8. He has even harnessed up enemies, friends, 
disease, death and the devil to assist us in living 
salvation. "And we know that all things work to- 
gether for good to them that love God, to them who 
are the called according to His purpose" (Kom. 
8:28). 

"If your faith is in God, hold on ! hold on ! 
Tho' the way be through fire and thro' flood ; 
The flame will reflne, and the gold brighter shine, 
And the waves bear thee onward to God; 
The form of the fourth in the midst of the flame 
Shall protection and comfort bring; 



WHAT GOD HATH DONE 125 

They flourish in fire, on the floods mount the higher^ 
Who are trusting in Jesus, their King." 

9. He has given us more than a billion body- 
guards to protect us from the onslaughts of the 
enemy by day and by night. ''The angel of the Lord 
encampeth round about them that fear him, and de- 
livereth them" (Psa. 34: 7). ''Are they not all min- 
istering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who 
shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb. 1: 14). ''Behold, 
He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor 
sleep" (Psa. 121; 4). "And He answered. Fear not: 
for they that be with us are more than they that be 
with them. And Elisha prayed, and said. Lord, I 
pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the 
Lord opened the eyes of the young man ; and he saw : 
and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and 
chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 Kings 6 : 1(5, 
17). 

10. He put our Savior at His right hand on the 
throne, to intercede and remind Him of us, every 
moment (so to speak). "But this man, after He had 
offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on 
the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting 
till His enemies be made His footstool" (Heb. 10 : 13, 
14). 

Now, reader, is there any excuse for your not 
being holy? "How shall we escape, if we neglect so 
great salvation?" (Heb. 2:3). 



CHAPTER XXIX 
SEVEN ARGUMENTS AGAINST SUICIDE 



To the dear ones who have grown tired of life and 
are contemplating putting an end to their present ex- 
istence, is this little message sent. Now, dear ones, 
before proceeding to carry out your purpose, will 
you carefully read and seriously consider the con- 
tents of these pages? 

The first thing to which I wish to call your atten- 
tion, is your present environment and general cir- 
cumstances. It is to be admitted that there are many 
unpleasant things in life to be endured and under- 
gone, which are, no doubt, great incentives to suicide. 
But, on the other hand, when we consider the num- 
berless blessings, benefits, privileges and opportuni- 
ties that dail}^ crown our lives, there are ten thou- 
sand things to encourage us to live. 

You are daily fanned by God's balmy breeze and 
refreshed from His cooling streams; you are also 
blessed with food, raiment, a reasonable portion of 
health and here and there a friend (for there is no 
one upon earth who is bereft of every friend, though 
they be few and far between) ; and, best of all, you 
are still in the land of the living, where wrongs can 
be rectified, lost wealth restored by industry, the 
wreck of health regained by temperance, alienated 

126 



SEVEN ARGUMENTS AGAINST SUICIDE 127 

friendship smoothed into forgetfulness, forfeited 
reputation won by patience and virtue; while peace 
and reconciliation can be obtained from God, all of 
which you will be deprived of forever, if you take 
your life. I still admit that there are many sad 
phases to this life ; but ever bear this in mind, reader, 
your present blessings are as numberless as the sands 
upon the seashore. The suicides in hell to-day would 
gladly exchange places with the most miserable, for- 
lorn, depressed, and poverty-stricken being in the 
world. If they were granted the privilege of return- 
ing to earth, no amount of grief, sorrow, disgrace, dis- 
appointment or loss could ever induce them to com- 
mit suicide again. Five minutes after the death-deal- 
ing stroke was administered, they were willing to 
give billions of worlds to have life back again ; but ah, 
the die was cast, and life's door was forever closed ! 



II 

Eeader, I shall now attempt to call your atten- 
tion to loho it is that is tempting you to destroy your 
life. In the twelfth chapter of Eevelation, and the 
ninth verse, we read the following words : ^'That old 
serpent, called the devil, and satan, which deceiveth 
the whole world." 

I shall never forget a picture I saw in a book some 
years ago. It was of a man who had gone out on a 
dark night to end his life by jumping off a bridge 
into the river. As he stood near the bridge weighing 
the matter in his mind, the devil stood at his side 



128 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

urging him to commit the irreparable deed. He was 
showing him how quickly he could drown all of his 
cares and sorrows forever. But at his other side 
stood the angel of mercy, warning him not to yield 
to the tempter. So it is with you, tempted one; no 
doubt, he is annoying you with this thought, morning, 
noon and night, but do not yield to his sophistry for 
a million worlds. No doubt, he has made it very 
clear to your mind, how quickly and easily you could 
end all of your sorrow and misery, hj simply turning 
on the gas and going to bed ; or by one shot from the 
revolver, or one dose of poison, or one leap from the 
bridge; but do not yield. This is one of his most 
subtle methods of damning souls forever. It is to be 
remembered that he has been in the soul-deceiving 
business for nearly six thousand years; hence, he is 
quite an expert at the business. He often makes peo- 
ple think that if they commit suicide the;^ will spite 
and revenge some one else, but it is a great mistake ; 
they are the eternal losers. 

There is hardly a man or woman to be found 
whom satan has not, at some time and some point, 
tempted to commit this unpardonable sin. He will 
always show the pretty side of it, namely, how quick- 
ly all of our troubles and sorrows would end; how 
nice we would look lying in the casket; how sensa- 
tionally it would fall on the ears of the public ; how 
quiet and peaceful would be our sleep beneath the 
weeping willow and rueful sod, etc. But he conceals 
the thought of the awful death-throes, the dying 
groans, the terrific pains inflicted by death's resist- 
less spear, and the lake of fire and brimstone where 



SEVEN ARGUMENTS AGAINST SUICIDE 129 

the ruined soul will dwell with liars, gamblers, 
thieves, murderers and hobgoblins forever. 

He never consents for souls to pray over this 
matter and seek advice from their friends, but always 
urges them to do it quickly and thoroughly. We have 
heard of people committing suicide by taking poison, 
and when an investigation is made, it was found that 
they had taken enough to kill a half dozen people. 
Satan does not like to lose his game. He aims to 
make a dead-shot every time. He is aware of the 
fact that it is endless gain. 

If to-night we could descend into hell and hold 
a convention with all of the suicides in that world 
of woe, we would not find a single one who would 
repeat the act if granted another probation upon 
earth. 

Now, reader, do take warning while you are in 
the land of the living. Do not for a moment enter- 
tain the thought of committing suicide, but repel it 
at once. It is a thought that can not be entertained 
without fastening itself into one's mind and becom- 
ing a constant temptation, especially during seasons 
of disappointment and depression. 



Ill 

The next thought people should consider, before 
taking this awful step, is the nature of the sin they 
commit. ''This is the gravest and greatest sin that 
can be committed by a human being. We do not 
write these words hastily in saying, the greatest of 



130 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

crimes. We can not conceive of a more horrible and 
everlasting deed in its results, than a man deliberate- 
ly taking his own life. A priceless existence has been 
ended that the murderer never gave; probation has 
been suddenly terminated forever; and from an im- 
mortal soul, hope, joy, peace, and salvation removed 
for all eternity. 

^ 'Other crimes may be rectified. The soul siuned 
against may recover from the wrong. The besmirched 
spirit may obtain a plumage of snow, after having 
laid among the pots. But what can be done for the 
being suddenly cut off in his iniquity and sent unre- 
pentant to hell by the shot, stab or blow from his 
own hand." We sometimes hear of people kneeling 
in the act of prayer before committing this irrepar- 
able deed ; but, alas, it was a fruitless prayer ! This 
is one of the sins for which there is no forgiveness. 
This is like a man leaving the life preserver on the 
shore and jumping into the sea. Every soul who 
takes its own life, leaves grace, mercy, and pardon 
all behind it on the shore of time, and plunges into 
eternity and hell, deeply dyed in the guilt of self- 
murder. 

I've crossed the line of Mercy's bound, 
Where peace and pardon could be found, 
And drifted to this far-off place, 
From God and heav'n, and his free grace. 



IV 

The next thought that presents itself for consid- 
eration is, does committing suicide put an end to 



SEVEN ARGUMENTS AGAINST SUICIDE 131 

one^s suffering? What saith the voice of inspiration? 
In the sixteenth chapter of St. Luke's gospel we read 
as follows : ''The rich man also died, and was hurled; 
and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, 
and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his 
bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, 
have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may 
dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue ; 
for / am tormented in this flaine.'^ In Mark 9 : 47, 
48, "And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out : it is 
better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with 
one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire : 
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
quenched." In Matt. 13:49, 50, ''So shall it be at 
the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, 
and sever the wicked from among the just. And shall 
cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall he wail- 
ing and gnashing of teeth/' In 2 Thess. 1 : 7-9, we 
read these awful words, ''When the Lord Jesus shall 
be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. In 
flaming fire taking vengeance on them that kno^v not 
God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ: Who shall he punished with everlasting de- 
struction from the presence of the Lord, and the 
glory of his power." We also read in Eev. 21 : 8, 
"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abomi- 
nable, and murderers y and whoremongers, and sorcer- 
ers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part 
in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: 
which is the second death." 

Notice a few points of interest about hell. First. 
It is a place of no rest. "They have no rest-day nor 



132 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

night'' (Eev. 14: 11). Second. It is a place of outer 
darkness. "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into 
outer darkness" (Matt. 25:30). Third. A place 
where men gnaw their tongues. "And they gnawed 
their tongues for pain" (Eev. 16:10). Fourth. A 
place where men drink the cup of God's wrath. "The 
same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, 
which is poured out without mixture into the cup of 
his indignation" (Rev. 14:10). Fifth. A place 
where loved ones are not wanted. "I pray thee there- 
fore, Father, that thou wouldest send him to my 
father's house : For I have five brethren ; that he may 
testify unto them, lest they also come into this place 
of torment" (Luke 16:27). Sixth. A place of un- 
cleanness. "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and 
whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and 
whosoever loveth and maketh a lie" (Rev. 22:15). 
Seventh. A place of unending duration. "And these 
shall go away into everlasting punishment" (Matt. 
25:46). 



In this chapter I shall endeavor to give a few 
brief remarks on what steps to take when you are 
tempted to destroy your life. 

The first step to be taken is to lift your heart to 
God in earnest prayer, asking Him to strengthen and 
help you to resist this great temptation. No matter 
how vile a sinner you may be, or what color or 
nationality, it matters not. If you pray to him with 
an earnest, repenting and contrite heart. He will 



SEVEN ARGUMENTS AGAINST SUICIDE 133 

surely assist you. Listen to His words, "Call upon 
me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee'' (Psa. 
50: 15). ''The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day 
of trouble" (Nah. 1:7). "The sacrifices of God 
are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, 
O God, Thou wilt not despise" (Psa. 51: 7). 

Second. The next thing to do is to remove every 
death-dealing instrument from your room, such as 
revolver, razor, poison, etc. If you keep such things 
around, the devil may influence you, while in a 
fit of temporary insanity (brought about through 
brooding over your troubles), to destroy your life 
before you take time to consider what you are doing. 
Mne-tenths of the suicide cases are brought about in 
this way. The individual hastily picked up the re- 
volver, the razor, or poison and performed the ir- 
reparable deed without thinking; but, after it was 
done, it was too late for reconsideration. The die 
was cast and his eternal destiny fixed. 

The third thing to do, is do not spend much time 
in your room alone during the season of temptation. 
The old proverb, "An idle mind is a workshop 
for the devil," is a very true one in this case. Nearly 
every case of suicide is generally committed in secret, 
namely, when the individual is all alone. Therefore, 
when you feel these melancholy spells coming upon 
you, go out and visit your neighbor, or go on some 
busy street for a walk, where your mind will be di- 
verted from this diabolical thought, and you will 
escape the tempter's snare. 

Fourth. The next step to be taken at such seasons 
of temptation, is to count your present blessings, 



134 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

benefits and privileges. It may be that it is over only 
one loss that you are tempted to take your life, but 
you should stop and consider that you are still in 
possession of ten thousand blessings that you will 
not have in the world to which you will go, if you 
commit suicide. Would it not be far better to endure 
one loss, one injury, one slander or disgrace than it 
would be to lose earth with ten thousand blessings 
and go to hell to spend eternity in a lake of fire and 
brimstone? Eev. 19 : 20 and 20 : 15. 

Fifth. The next thing to do when tempted to 
take your life, is to go to church and hear a good 
sermon and listen to the singing. I am sure God will 
speak to you either through the preacher or through 
the singing. I knew a man in Chicago, who was 
completely discouraged with trying to live, owing to 
some financial need, and was on his way to Lake 
Michigan to jump in and end his life. As he 
walked down the street he heard singing in a little 
mission, so he thought he would go in for a few mo- 
ments before he bade farewell to earth and friends. 
As he entered and took a seat near the door, God 
prompted the minister to read the following words : 
^'Trust in the Lord, and do good ; so shalt thou dwell 
in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed" (Psa. 37 : 3) . 
The man accepted Christ, and went back home a 
happy man. The following week he went out and 
found a good paying position which he has kept for 
more than ten years, and he said in a testimony meet- 
ing, sometime ago, that he had not been without a 
dollar in ten years. 



SEVEN ARGUMENTS AGAINST SUICIDE 135 
VI 

The next thought that presses its way into my 
mind for consideration, is the suicide facing the 
great God at the judgment bar. 

It would be of little concern how men lived upon 
earth, and what they did, if there was no coming day 
of final retribution. But we read in Eccles. 12 : 14 
these words, "For God shall bring every work into 
judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be 
good, or whether it be evil." We also read in 2 Cor. 
5 : 10, the following words : "For we must all appear 
before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one 
may receive the things done in his body, according to 
that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 

Oh, what an awful hour, and what an appalling 
scene it will be when the long line of suicides shall 
stand before the great white throne, beneath the ter- 
ror of God's eye, in breathless awe and mute despair ! 
Then every creature shall behold the brand of infinite 
contempt upon their hopeless brows, and know full 
well that they were the chiefest of sinners in the 
world below. Then will fall these words from in- 
finite, supreme, eternal truth, like thunderbolts upon 
their ear, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlast- 
ing fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 
26:41). 

VII 

FRAGMENTS FROM THE SUICIDE^S HELL 

"I am nearing the gates of death. Shadows, full 
of phantom shapes, stare at me on every side. Images 



136 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

of terror rise and beckon me on. Deeds of the past 
stretch out their bony hands to shove me into the 
vortex of a hungry hell, whose flames leap out to 
meet me at my coming. I am dying unattended. 
Desi)air mocks me. Agony tenders to my burning 
and parched lips her fiery cup. Kemorse feels for my 
conscience to rend it, while regret clutches at the 
throat of my memory. My guilty soul is swept on 
the billowy blast of damnation, where the rain of fire 
and hail of brimstone in a horrible tempest roll the 
black crest waves, tissued with fire, on and on into 
the blackness of darkness forever. Lost in the path- 
less void of eternal night, I am pushing on into the 
boundless, bottomless, infinite darkness, where satyrs 
wielding thongs of forked flames flit and scream, 
where serpents sired in the black dungeons of inky 
damnation crawl, and hiss, and spurt their venom. 
With blistering feet and swollen tongue, I press on 
into greater misery. 

''The streams I started in life of oaths, lies, gam- 
bling, stealing, adultery, Sabbath desecration, drunk- 
enness, all pour in on me now like so many black 
streams of fire. Here the outraged justice of a holy 
God lays on her fiery whip, while remorse plies her 
scorpion thongs, surrounded by grimacing devils, 
howling fiends, and gnashing ghosts. I am tormented 
in this flame where the fearful and unbelieving, the 
abominable and murderous, whoremongers and sor- 
cerers, and idolaters, and all liars have their part in 
the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, and 
drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured 
out without mixture, where they gnaw their tongues 



SEVEN ARGUMENTS AGAINST SUICIDE 137 

for pain, gnash their teeth, wring their hands, howl 
with regret, and blaspheme the God of heaven.'^ 

"In hell, looking backward and looking forward 
are frought with equal pain. There is nothing be- 
fore the suicide but an endless existence which knows 
not of hope, while all behind is wrapped in the wild 
regret of a life that was foolishly trifled away." 

''Of all of the fools of the world's training, he 
surely is the greatest who takes away his own life, 
thinking he could never be worse off than he is. 
Whatever a man's earthly lot may be, be sure it is a 
paradise to what he goes to meet. He will find him- 
self yearning for the misery he left behind; indeed, 
if you could give him back that misery tenfold he 
would seize it eagerly and bless you for the gift." 

"Hell yields a terrible knowledge — how blessedly 
fruitful life might have been! Happy ye are whose 
life is still in your hands ; where there is life, there is 
hope; never was there a truer word. Do not, I be- 
seech you, yield to that pernicious delusion, that com- 
mitting suicide ends your sorrows and brings you 
peace and endless felicity; satan never forged a 
greater falsehood." 

"How soon were all the trivial woes of earth for- 
gotten, when the suicide first felt the sting of the un- 
dying w^orm, the throes of eternal death and took his 
maiden plunge into the fiery lake." 

"Earth wiih all her sorrow, disgrace, poverty, 
and shame, was a paradise compared to lying here 
chained in this burning gulf while fiery billows dash 
with fury over the soul." 

"Woe unto ye wicked spirits upon earth, who. 



138 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

with your own hands, end your lives, and force your 
way uninvited, and much sooner than the devil had 
hoped, into this dark, unbottomed, infinite abyss of 
everlasting fire !" 

"How rich was life, how full of enjoyment! I 
see it all now, when nothing is left to comfort the 
soul. My life was crowned with numberless bless- 
ings and benefits. But I could not see them then; 
all I saw, was the dark side of everything ; but now, 
all is clear. Oh, that I had a new lease on life ! Oh, 
that I could recall that sad, sad hour when I so 
foolishly yielded to satan by leaping from the bridge 
and thus put out life's flickering lamp !'' 

"The evening bell continues ringing, ringing, to 
my ear ; but the message it carries is : Too late ! too 
late! eternally too late." 

"Indeed, broad is the way which leads to destruc- 
tion ; but how hroad is not known till you see it from 
hell; and how we are favored on earth, is not fully 
known until we pass the boundary line of mercy and 
pardon, and enter these adamantine gates, and begin 
the years of everlasting date in endless torments." 



CHAPTER XXX 

BEING SUBDUED 

"My soul is even as a weaned child" (Psa. 131:2). If 
we modernize the above text, it would read as follows : "My 
soul is perfectly subdued." 

We frequently hear people praying for more 
power, wisdom, faith, and love, but rarely ever hear 
them earnestly beseeching God to more thoroughly 
subdue them. No doubt, God has more trouble with 
His children at this point than at any other. Now, 
for one to be all God wants him to be, he must be sub- 
dued on every line. Properly speaking, the word 
^^subdued'^ means, "to render submissive; to reduce 
to mildness'' (Webster). 

The work of being perfectly reduced to mildness 
is not completed either at justification or sanctifica- 
tion, owing to our ignorance and short-sightedness. 
Providence is the instrument which our heavenly 
Father uses, not only to grind off all of the rough 
edges, but also to soften and mellow us up, until we 
are as passive in His hands as a piece of wax. This 
is the process which God used on Madam Guyon, 
Wesley, Bunyan and others. 

Notice a few of the most prominent characteris- 
tics of a thoroughly subdued soul. 1. It immediate- 
ly and cheerfully yields the dearest object and most 
valuable treasure to God (when called upon to do so) 
without the least unwillingness, or inward hanker- 

189 



140 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

ing. "Not my will, but thine, be done.'' "To walk 
inwardly with God, and to have the heart detached 
from earthly objects, is the state of a spiritual man. 
You must be stripped of all, and bring a pure heart 
to Jesus, if you would find rest and see how sweet 
the Lord is." 

2. The thoroughly subdued soul meekly adjusts 
itself to all unavoidable circumstances and happen- 
ings, without a word of complaint against God or 
man. It meekly says with Eli of old, "It is the Lord : 
let Him do what seemeth good"; or, with Mary of 
old, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord ; be it unto me 
according to thy Word." 

3. The thoroughly subdued soul is not noisy or 
clamorous under pressure, or when in hard places, 
but silently, meekly, patiently and joyfully endures 
all that comes its way. "Do all things without mur- 
murings and disputings: That ye may be blameless 
and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in 
the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among 
whom ye shine as lights in the world" (Phil. 2: 14, 
15). 

4. A subdued soul does not fret, doubt, worry 
nor chafe when God hides His face, but, like a paci- 
fied child, quietly awaits the return of its heavenly 
Father. God does not have to keep the pacifier of 
ecstasy in its mouth to prevent its becoming dis- 
couraged and doubting away its experience ; but, like 
holy Job, it exclaims, "He knoweth the way that I 
take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as 
gold" (Job. 23:10). 

5. The plans and engagements of the subdued 



BEING SUBDUED 141 

soul are so turned over to God, and subjected to His 
alterations and interpositions, that it never gets 
tempted and talks back when they are frustrated. 
The soul remains just as humble and thankful when 
plans are frustrated and spoiled as when they are 
fulfilled to perfection. 

6. Still another characteristic of the subdued 
soul, is it never shirks duty nor dodges the cross, but 
is abundant in labors, and bears with an unruffled 
spirit every burden that is laid upon it. It is also 
subject and obedient to those in authority. 

Lastly, the soul of which we are writing is so con- 
quered and inwardly subdued that it would not re- 
tract if hell would burn up. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

THE WORKS OF TIME 

Who plucked away my childhood bloom, 

My rosy cheeks so gay? 
Who filled my life with sorrow's gloom 

And ended all my play? 
The great Despoiler — "Time.'' 

Who wrinkled up my handsome face 
That once was smooth and fair? 

Who set my teeth all out of place 
And frosted up my hair? 
The great Defacer — "Time." 

Who took away my nimble gait 

And made me walk so slow? 
Who made my blood at such poor rate 

Throughout my body flow? 
The Mitigator — "Time." 

Who strewed my path with "blasted hope," 
And prospects withered leaves? 

Who severed love's conjugal rope 
That bound the fam'ly sheaves? 
The great Destroyer — "Time." 

Who took the load of grief from me 

And banished ev'ry tear, 
When 'neath the sighing willow tree 

I laid my loved ones dear? 
The Consolator — "Time." 

142 



THE WORKS OF TIME 143 

Who rolled the tide of slander back 

With all its waves of shame, 
And baffled ev'ry rude attack 

To cover up my name? 
The great Explainer — "Time." 

Who brings us all to "equal plane" 

And turns us back to clay? 
Who proves to ev'ry mind and brain 

The truth of "judgment day- ' ? 
The great Convincer — "Time." 



CHAPTER XXXII 

CLOSE CLASS-MEETING 

Now, friend, be just as honest with yourself, 
while reading these questions, as you will wish you 
had been when you stand before the "Great White 
Throne.'' 

1. Are you saved from all of your sins, and 
living a clean, upright, holy life — just such a life as 
you would if you were in heaven? This is what it 
means to be a Christian. 1 John 2 : 6. 

2. Are you enjoying the experience of "entire 
sanctification," your heart being made pure from all 
inbred sin, so that you never feel any temper, but 
pure love filling your soul continually? 

3. Are you all aglow with the Holy Ghost and 
fire, as you were in your early experience? You 
should be more so. Prov. 4 : 18. 

4. Do you spend as much time in secret prayer 
and fasting as formerly? 

5. Are you as careful in your conversation at all 
times as you used to be, carefully avoiding all light- 
ness, slang, jokes, etc.? 

6. Are you as careful about keeping your word 
as you used to be, even though it may be to your dis- 
advantage sometimes? Psa. 15:4. 

7. Do you keep your debts paid up, just as Jesus 
would do under the same circumstances ? 

8. Are you as prompt in obeying the soft whis- 

144 



CLOSE CLASS-MEETING 145 

pers of the Holy Spirit as you used to be — carefully 
heeding the checks, reproofs and promptings? 

9. Are you really plain in your dress, or do you 
wear some things about which you are a little doubt- 
ful? 

10. Are you as careful to not mention the faults 
of absent persons as you used to be, keeping per- 
fectly clear from all tattling and talebearing? 

11. Are you as careful to avoid all appearances 
of evil as you used to be ? 

12. Are you ''clothed with humility" in all of 
your deportment, or are you foppish, dressy, primpy 
and handhoxyf 

13. Are you as liberal in giving to support the 
work of God as you used to be, or are you getting 
tight and graftyf 

14. Are you carefully walking in all the light 
that has ever shone on your heart up until this pres- 
ent moment? 

15. Are you as ready for heaven, as far as you 
know, as .you ever expect to be in this world? You 
should be, or else you are not ''also ready" (Matt. 
24:44). 

16. Have you really confessed and straightened 
up your past life as far as possible? 

17. Are you letting God and nature have their 
way in your married life, or are you trying to avoid 
rearing children? Gen. 38: 10; Psa. 127: 3. 

18. Are you saved from using rough, harsh, cut- 
ting words at home and abroad? Is your tongue 
seasoned with the law of kindness at all times? 

19. Do vou think so much of vour children that 



146 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

you are trying to bring them up without the rod? 
If so, you are only bringing up a set of anarchists 
to rebel against earth, holiness and heaven. Prov. 
23:13, 14. 

20. Do you really love the prayer-meeting as you 
used to do, and are you as prompt in attending it as 
you used to be? 

21. Have you taken up any of the things you 
once felt convicted to lay aside? 

22. Are your motives pure in all of your alms- 
giving, your calls, your plans, your church work, 
etc.? Are all strictly to the glory of God, and free 
from all self seeking? 

23. Is every letter you write of the character 
that you would not mind hearing it read by Gabriel 
to the assembled universe on the day of judgment? 

24. Do you carefully guard against making false 
impressions upon people, your children included? 
Remember, it is just as wrong to act a lie as it is to 
tell one. 

25. Do you studiously avoid all shades of dis- 
honesty in business, trading, etc.? 

26. Are your thoughts kept pure and holy, or do 
you entertain unholy thoughts ? 2 Cor. 10 : 5. Re- 
member, ''your thoughts are heard aloud in heaven.'' 

27. Do you at all times keep the opposite sex at 
its proper distance? This would save you from 
lots of grievous temptations. 

28. Do you feel secretly proud of your talents, 
gifts, abilities, etc.? If so, that is the very same 
kind of pride which turned angels into devils, pulled 
down the stars from heaven, wrecked fair earth, 



CLOSE CLASS-MEETING 147 

caused the Son of God to bleed and die, dug hell, and 
kindled all of its bounds with wrath and unquench- 
able fire. 

29. Do you at any time lower God's standard to 
catch church-members or to be popular ? For you to 
lower God's standard, under any circumstances, 
means that you denounce God, holiness and heaven, 
and take your stand with devils. Eev. 22 : 19. For 
a child of God to lower God's standard one iota 
makes heaven mourn and devils shout for joy. 

30. Do you really 'believe that it takes holiness 
to keep people from the flames of hell? If so, live 
and preach it with all of your might. 

31. Do you live so as not to be a stumbling-block 
to your family? 

32. Do you vote like you pray, "Thy kingdom 
come" ? 

33. Do you live, pray, preach and do business as 
if it were your last day upon earth? 

Now, friend, if you fall short on any of these 
lines, is there any wonder you are not where you 
used to be? ''Repent from whence thou art fallen;" 
get back on the old-time fire and power line, and you 
will receive the Holy Ghost power as they did in 
early days. The old-time track brings the old-time 
power. 



CHAPTEK XXXIII 

GOD AND MAMMON 

"Ye can not serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6: 24). 

Here we have a plain, pointed statement, uttered 
by the Lord Jesus Christ. Kevivals are needed among 
the so-called Christians of to-day, in order to get 
them to believe that God means just what He has 
said in His Word. Where the word "mammon'^ may 
be applied to anything loved or sought, without refer- 
ence to God, it also has special reference to riches, 
or, as they say in modern language, the dollar. As 
little as there is being said about it by modern di- 
vines, the dollar is the chief idol of our day, and is 
making a strong fight to occupy the chief place, not 
only in the hearts of sinners, but also in the hearts 
of God^s people. 

Now, reader, since this is an undeniable fact, let 
us have a little self-examination and heart-to-heart 
talk, and see to whom you are rendering the most 
faithful service, to God or the dollar. Please answer 
the following questions, truthfully and honestly, to 
God who knoweth all things: 

1. Are you as careful about being at church on 
time as you are about being on time to your daily 
employment? How many times, in the course of a 
month, are you fifteen minutes late in getting to your 
employment ? Do I hear you say, ^^ Just once" ? Well, 
that is very good. Now, let us turn the table ; out of 

148 



GOD AND MAMMON 149 

thirty-one Sundays, how many times have you been 
late in getting to church? Be honest, now! Did 
you ever stop to consider the fact, that if you are 
more prompt and punctual in your service to the 
world than to the church, you esteem mammon more 
than Christ? 

2. Does the same degree of rain, snow and 
stormy weather prevent your going to your daily 
employment that prevents your attending the re- 
ligious services? Be honest, now! 

3. Do you visit and sit up with the sick when 
called upon, with the same cheerful, willing spirit 
that you would if you were getting wages? Or, do 
you plead some flimsy excuse and dodge out of it? 
If so, you are not even a good hireling in the service 
of the Lord. 

4. Are you as willing to give your second-hand 
garments to that needy brother or the beggar at the 
door as you are to sell them ? Jesus said, ^'Inasmuch 
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my 
brethren, ye have done it unto me/' Now, if you are 
more willing to sell the garments for money than 
you are to give them to Jesus Christ, is it not quite 
evident that you think more of the dollar than of 
Him? 

5. Are you as willing to remain with seekers 
and help pray them through after service, as you are 
to work overtime (for pay) at your place of employ- 
ment? The one to which you give the most cheerful 
response is your god, no matter if you do sing, pray 
and mention the name of the Deity in your catechism 
and church creed. 



150 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

6. Do you lay aside all superfluity in dress, and 
confine yourself to plain, modest attire, as readily as 
do the postmen, policemen, firemen and trained 
nurses, who do it for pay? 

7. Keader, are you one of those evangelists who 
require the promise of a stipulated salary, before you 
will come and labor? If so, you should change the 
title of your calling; instead of having it read 
"gospel evangelist," make it read '^money evangelist,^* 
for as it is now, you are misrepresenting yourself. 

8. The man or woman who can be biased or 
turned aside the least bit from Christian principle 
by a gift, is not a servant of God, but of mammon. 
We admit, a gift is sometimes a very good thing; 
however, there are times when it is more dangerous 
than good. The Word says, "And thou shalt take no 
gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth 
the words of the righteous'' (Exod. 23:8). "Thou 
shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a 
gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the 
words of the righteous" (Deut. 16:19). 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

BLIND BARTIMEUS 

"And they came to Jericho: and as He went out of 
Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people, 
blind Bartimeus, the son of Timeus, sat by the highway side 
begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, 
he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, 
have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should 
hold his peace : but he cried the more a great deal, thou Son 
of David, have mercy on me" (Mark 10: 46-48). 

The blessed Bible is not only a book of precepts 
and promises but also a picture gallery of characters. 
It contains a perfect photograph of every human 
being that ever did or ever will live. Here, in this 
lesson, we have a striking picture of the sinner along 
the highway of life, for all sinners are blind; they 
are not only blind, but are also deaf and dumb, and 
dead to God and spiritual things. What saith the 
scriptures? ^'And you hath he quickened, who were 
dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). "Even 
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us to- 
gether with Christ" (Eph. 2:5). "But the natural 
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: 
for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he 
know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 
"But he that lacketh these things is tlindj and can 
not see afar off" (2 Pet. 1:9). 

Let us more narrowly observe the conduct of this 
blind man and see how he succeeded in getting to 

151 



152 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

Jesus. The first thing worthy of our attention, is 
in the fact that he believed and accepted the testi- 
mony given by others regarding Jesus. No doubt, 
he had been told over and over about this Great 
Healer, who turned no one away unhealed (no mat- 
ter what disease they had, or how poor they were), 
but cleansed the lepers, healed the palsy, restored 
sight to the blind, strengthened the lame, and raised 
the dead. Hence, this blind man accepted these testi- 
monies and believed that what Christ had done for 
others. He would do for him also. Oh, that w^e could 
persuade every sinner in the world to do likewise! 

Blind Bartimeus did not stop at simply believing 
the testimonies of others, but improved the golden 
opportunity of getting healed himself. He did not 
defer the matter, like many are doing to-day, but im- 
proved it. It is quite likely that Jesus never passed 
that way again. This was, no doubt, the blind man's 
last and only chance. Reader, Jesus may be passing 
your way to-day, for the last time. Eemember, every 
revival, every camp-meeting or religious service that 
comes your way, is no more and no less than Jesus 
of Nazareth passing by. 

The next noble act worthy of imitation in the con- 
duct of the blind man, was he paid no attention what- 
ever to public opinion and human scorn. There are 
thousands in hell to-day who perished for lack of this 
noble principle. There are also many in the world 
who would gladly renounce their sins and become 
followers of the lowly Nazarene, if it were not for 
the criticism and scorn which they would expect to 
receive from their friends. Oh! that they would 



BLIND BARTIMEUS 153 

seriously consider the following words of Jesus: 
"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my 
words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of 
him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He 
Cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy 
angels" (Mark 8:38). 

Another noticeable feature in the conduct of the 
blind man, which is worthy of commendation and 
imitation, was his anxiety and determination. His 
friends did not have to pet and coax him to call upon 
the Savior, as many do to-day, but he cried aloud, 
"Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me." 

When souls get sick of sin and are under Bible 
conviction, they do their own praying. In speaking 
of Saul of Tarsus, the Lord said, "Behold, he pray- 
eth." His next step in getting to Jesus, was "cast- 
ing away his garments,-' namely, entanglements and 
besetments. Thousands, these days, are trying to get 
to the Savior without renouncing their pride, idols, 
unclean habits and their evil associates, but they fail. 

In Isa. 1 : 16-18 we read the following declaration : 
"Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of 
your doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; 
learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the op- 
pressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord : 
though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white 
as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall 
be as wool." In another place we read, "Let the 
wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his 
thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, and He 
will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He 



154 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

will abundantly pardon'' (Isa. 55:7). The reason 
people do not strike fire, is because they do not re- 
nounce their sins. 

"He arose and came to Jesus." Many nowadays 
are reforming and joining the church, the Christian 
Endeavor, the Epworth League and the Y. M. C. A., 
but are failing to obtain the "New Birth," and to be- 
come new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is true, this 
class of people take quite an active part in church 
work; but notwithstanding that fact, they are as 
powerless as Ezekiel's dry bones, because they fail 
"To come to Jesus.'' 

Another commendable thing seen in the conduct 
of the blind man is this : He frankly told Jesus his 
need. He did not do as many of the twentieth-cen- 
tury seekers, who say they are not very bad, never 
murdered any one, or never robbed a bank, but who 
fail to tell Him how contrary and quarrelsome they 
are at home, how jealous they are of wife, how deceit- 
ful and two-faced they are, and also of the unbelief, 
pride, hate and rebellion that lurks within. 

Lastly, Bartimeus was not disappointed. He not 
only had his sight restored, but also had his sins for- 
given and his soul made whole (or saved, as the 
margin reads). 

Truly, God never disappoints a seeking soul. The 
promise is, "Blessed are they which do hunger and 
thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" 
(Matt. 5:6). 

"Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall 
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matt. 
7:7). 



CHAPTER XXXV 

"THE SHEKINAH" 

"So it was alway; the cloud covered it by day, and the 
appearance of fire by night" (Num. 9:16). 

Here we have a beautiful symbol of the blessed 
Holy Spirit and His various operations with the chil- 
dren of God. Let us take a hurried glance at this 
Shekinah, and see how perfectly its operations har- 
monize with those of the Holy Ghost. First. It was 
sent to guide the children of Israel through the dark, 
tangled wilderness into the land that flowed with 
milk and honey. Jesus said, in speaking of the 
blessed Holy Ghost, ^'Howbeit when He, the Spirit 
of truth is come. He will guide you into all truth" 
(John 16: 13). He is not only with us, but also in 
us, to pilot us through this dark wilderness of sin, 
and bring us safely home to the city of fadeless day. 

Second. The Shekinah was not only a guide, but 
was also a light for the entire camp of Israelites. 
Just think, what awful darkness must have shrouded 
that dense wilderness before God, in His infinite 
mercy, sent the pillar of fire ! What a pall of black- 
ness, ignorance and superstition would hang over the 
church to-day were it not for the effulgent light of 
the blessed Holy Ghost shining upon the page^ of 
truth, making the way so plain that ^'the wayfaring 
men, though fools, shall not err therein.'^ 

Third. The Shekinah also represented the Holy 

155 



156 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

Ghost, in that it defended and protected. By day, 
its beautiful snowlike wings protected the women 
and children, yea, and all the company, from the 
scorching rays of the king of day ; while at night, it 
sent darkness and consternation into the ranks of 
the enemy. The psalmist said, ^'He spread a cloud 
for their covering.'^ Isaiah said, "And the Lord will 
create upon every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and 
ujDon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and 
the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all 
the glory shall be a defense" (covering). "And there 
shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime 
from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a 
covert from storm and from rain'' (Isa. 4:5, 6). 

Fourth. The Israelites were to strictly and 
promptly obey the leadings of the Shekinah. They 
were to be ready to go ivhenever and wherever it led, 
within a few moments' notice, without any excuse 
whatever. To-day, many of God's children are en- 
cumbered with fine furniture, expensive pictures, cut 
glass, canary birds, parrots, dogs, house plants, etc. 
Therefore, whenever the Holy Ghost makes a call 
for a free-handed worker, they begin making excuses 
and crying, "My things, my things, what will I do 
with my things ?" It would be a great blessing, both 
to them and perishing souls, if the things would 
take fire and burn up. They remind us of a man 
we once knew, who bought thirty cents' worth of ice 
to prevent ten cents' worth of stewed potatoes from 
spoiling. 

Fifth. This divine emblem was also to be eyed 
continually. If the Israelites had only taken a hur- 



"THE SHEKINAH" 157 

ried glance at it once or twice during the day, it 
would have been impossible to lead them. It had to 
be seen by some one, every moment of the day. So it 
is, if we would have the constant guidance and un- 
mitigated smile of the blessed Holy Ghost, we must, 
with faith's eye, behold His face continually, yea, 
while we speak, while we act, and while we think. We 
are not to do or say anything that we would be 
ashamed to do or say while looking into His face. 
Doubtless, the psalmist had this thought in mind, 
when he wrote the following lines : "I have set the 
Lord always before me: because He is at my right 
hand." God, in another i)lace, speaks after this man- 
ner, ''I will guide thee with mine eye." 

It is quite evident that this eye guidance can only 
be obtained by those who continually look into the 
face of God. Joseph and Mary lost the child Jesus 
out of their company for three days for the simple 
reason that they became interested in created things 
and creature consolation and failed to continually 
^'Behold the Lamb of God." The condition upon 
which Elisha was to receive a double portion of 
Elijah's spirit, was that he keep his eyes upon him 
continually. ''Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I 
shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. 
And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of 
thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked 
a hard thing ; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am 
taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee ; but if not, 
it shall not be so" (2 Kings 2:9, 10). 

A sixth lesson taught here, is the Shekinah did 
not direct part of the Israelites to go in one direction 



158 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

and part in another, but all were led in the same di- 
rection. Paul says, 'There are diversities of gifts, 
but the same Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:4). If we would 
accept the testimony of every long-haired, wild-eyed, 
tramp preacher throughout the country, we would be 
led to believe that the Holy Ghost led His children in 
a thousand and one directions at the same time. For 
instance, one comes declaring that God led him into 
the church, w^hile another apparently good brother 
follows him, declaring that God led him out of all 
churches. Another comes along, declaring that God 
told him to baptize by immersion, while another equal- 
ly affirms that He told him to sprinkle or pour. An- 
other earnest, enthusiastic brother comes through the 
country, declaring that God is leading him to teach 
and preach holiness in every land. In the meantime, 
a tobacco-soaked, whisky-breathed, money-loving, 
professed preacher follows closely, declaring that 
God sent him to refute the doctrine of holiness. We 
are thankful to God, however, for the Spirit and the 
Word which plainly teach us that "Denying ungodli- 
ness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, right- 
eously, and godly, in this present world'' (Tit. 2 : 12). 
Seven. Another valuable thought taught in the 
lesson is this: When the Israelites were to break 
camp and go forward to higher ground and greater 
conquest, the Shekinah lifted and moved onward. So 
it is, when the blessed Holy Spirit desires us to go 
forward to a deeper and richer experience. He ap- 
pears to inwardly desert us, leaving us void of the joy 
of the Lord, void of the spirit of prayer, besides leav- 
ing us tempted, oppressed and inwardly tied up. 



"THE SHEKINAH" 159 

This, of course, sends us to our knees and causes us 
to go forward to a deeper life of prayer, close self- 
examination and self-denial, also a more conscien- 
tious walk with God. 

What if my guide leads unknown ways, 
What if the flow of joy He stays, 
Or sore afflicts me all my days? 
Why should I care? He's leading home. 

Again, the Shekinah, in leading the children of 
Israel, always appealed directly to the sense of sight. 
The cause for this may be in the following fact : The 
sense of sight is the chief one of the five used in 
recognizing and discerning material objects. Where 
this is true, it is also equally true that the sense of 
feeling is the only one by which spiritual things may 
be discerned. Therefore, in the present dispensation, 
the Holy Ghost deals principally with men's feelings. 
We admit, faith is the chief medium through which 
man is to reach God. But the sense of feeling is gen- 
erally the medium through which God reveals Him- 
self to man. When He convicts sinners. He does it 
through this special sense, and this causes them to 
feel the weight of guilt and condemnation. ^'Oh, 
wretched man that I am!" cried the chief apostle. 
"I am sore distressed," exclaimed the terrified King 
of Israel, whom insulted heaven had refused to an- 
swer. This same thought holds good when God par- 
dons a sinner or sanctifies a believer. God always re- 
sponds to his feelings, and by so doing, causes him 
to know beyond a shadow of doubt that the work is 
done. When the fire fell on Elijah's sacrifice on Mt. 
Carmel, he knew all about it. When the fiery coal 



160 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

touched the lips of Isaiah, he was by no means uncon- 
scious of the fact. On the day of Pentecost there 
was not the least doubt in the minds of the disciples 
regarding their receiving the Holy Ghost. The work 
was self-evident. I have no confidence whatever in 
the tame, witnessless, fireless, powerless holiness (?) 
that is afloat in the land to-day. There are hundreds 
of deceived souls professing to be saved and sancti- 
fied who are perfect strangers to Bible conviction. 
Mr. Wesley said, "None, therefore, ought to believe 
that the work is done, till there is added the testi- 
mony of the Spirit, witnessing his entire sanctifica- 
tion as clearly as his justification." 

Elijah's God still liveth, 
And waits with great desire, 

And those who meet conditions 
He answers yet by fire. 

The last impressive thought suggested through 
this narrative, is the Shekinah found it necessary to 
keep the Israelites on an almost constant march to 
prevent mactivity and degeneracy. Whenever they 
remained too long in one place, they began to back- 
slide. At Hazeroth, that evil weed, "contention," 
sprang up in the hearts of Aaron and Miriam ; while 
at Sinai, the Israelites drifted into the rankest idol- 
atry ; and when almost on the verge of Canaan, Ko- 
rah, Abiram and Dathan rose up with a storm of 
rebellion, and thus caused division and great destruc- 
tion. So it is to-day, no matter how spiritual a 
church or people may be, if they become indolent and 
inactive, and are not constantly on the move to get 
souls saved and sanctified, these same evils will 



"THE SHEKINAH" 161 

spring up in their midst, namely, "contention," 
biting and devouring one another; "idolatry,'^ 
going out after finery, dress, money and popularity ; 
"rebellion,'' becoming ungovernable, hard-headed and 
thirsty for leadership. Here lies the secret of many a 
church split, and also cooled-off gospel worker. It was 
idleness that paved the way for King David's twofold 
sin and awful fall. "And it came to pass, after the 
year was expired, at the time when kings go forth 
to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with 
him, and all Israel * * * but david tarried 
STILL AT JERUSALEM. Aiid it Came to pass in an eve- 
ningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and 
walked upon the roof of the king's house : and from 
the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the 
woman was very beautiful to look upon" (2 Sam. 
11:1, 2). 

Take heed, reader, how you lay off your armor, by 
neglecting to take an appointment ; to serve as class- 
leader. Sabbath-school teacher, etc., also by shirking 
duty and responsibility ; by going on too many vaca- 
tions; by staying home from the mid-week prayer- 
meeting, simply because you are getting along in 
years and have done nobly in the past. Solomon said, 
"There is no discharge in that war" (Eccles. 8:8). 
The margin has it, "No casting off of weapons." 
Many years' careful observation has convinced the 
writer of the fact, that idleness and fulness of bread 
are no small enemies to a godly life. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 
HUMAN WOE 

One cup there was dealt out to man, 

The worst of all since time began, 

To rich and poor, to high and low, 

It was the cup of human woe. 

See yon poor widow in the streets 

Who seeks relief of all she meets! 

She has no child, no friend, no home. 

But in the cold, wide world must roam. 

And as she goes from place to place. 

The doors are shut up in her face. 

Her tear-stained cheeks are pale and thin 

And hunger fiercely gnaws within. 

At last in want, without a friend, 

Her rueful, hopeless life doth end. 

In deepest solitude she dies 

And soars to bliss beyond the skies. 

No toll is heard from yon church bell ; 

No friend to mourn her long farewell ; 

No nodding hearse with flow'rs by ; 

No casket fine in which to lie ; 

No tombstone high to mark the spot; 

No mossy bed to dress the lot ; 

But in a common box she lay 

Which scarcely shields her from the clay, 

Among the paupers of the slums. 

To quietly wait till Jesus comes. 

162 



HUMAN WOE 163 



The next, a rueful drunkard's home, 
Where peace and pleasure never come, 
No food was there for wife or child ; 
No gentle word but curses wild; 
No happy wife with shining face ; 
No carpets gay to deck the place. 
His home entire was filth and rags, 
His children clad with strings and tags; 
They never knew a happy day 
Nor saw their father bow to pray ; 
Nor ever saw their mother smile. 
But sad and gloomy all the while. 
Her grief was like a shoreless sea; 
Yea, boundless as immensity! 
I'll ne'er forget the wintry night, 
When all around with snow was white ; 
And this lone family had no fire, 
But cold and damp they did retire, 
A shivering heap upon the floor, 
Alas! to 'wake on earth no more. 
'Twas long before the dawn of morn, 
Or ere the gloom of night had gone. 
When this poor wife in death was calm 
With all her babies on her arm. 
The frozen tears stood in her eyes, 
True sign that she in sorrow died. 

The next were homes devoid of love. 
That priceless "blessing" from above; 
That fount of sure domestic bliss 
Which mortals can't afl'ord to miss. 
Some wed for wealth, and some for fame. 



164 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

Who never felt the ''true love flame" ; 
And after sharing life awhile, 
They on each other ceased to smile. 
The wife grew sour and discontent, 
And oft her marriage did lament ; 
The husband, too, grew hard to please 
And more than once resolved to leave. 
Their home was sad, tho' much was there 
Of earthly grandeur, rich and rare. 
Ah ! life was irksome to them both. 
Each did the other's presence loathe; 
They scarcely ever could agree. 
And on no point the same could see; 
Tho' on the street they wore a smile, 
Within was sadness all the while. 

The next was grief from broken hearts. 

Which seemed more vile than Death's dread darts. 

Its victims most were womankind 

Who drank the most of love's sweet wine. 

One I remember long ago. 

An awful sight of female woe ; 

She was her mother's only child ; 

Her life was pure and undefiled. 

There came a man with much fair speech 

Her heart and hand, to all beseech; 

Her childish heart he lured and won, 

And thus became her star and sun. 

His voice was like an angel's song ; 

His smiles were like the dawning morn; 

His presence scattered all her gloom; 

His absence withered all her bloom; 



HUMAN WOE 165 



Her lover fair all night she saw; 
He filled her dream with blissful awe. 
At last, the joyous day was fix'd 
To wed in love and bliss unmix'd; 
The time was spent in joyful song, 
Tho' oft appearing twice as long. 
At last, the happy hour came. 
When father's fatted calf was slain; 
Her many friends and neighbors kind 
O'erflowed the place with presents fine; 
The preacher came, blest man of God, 
To bind with truth the sacred cord; 
The maiden sits in blissful dreams, 
An angel more than human seems; 
The march was set for half past nine; 
The maids and friends were all in line, 
Awaiting with attentive ear 
To hear the gallant groom appear ; 
But news came in with thunder sound, 
Which all the party did confound, 
^'He joined a girl that eve at four, 
x\nd left in haste for England's shore." 
^'Farewell," he sent the maid behind. 
And ''notes" received from time to time; 
She threw her form upon the floor. 
And screamed aloud, and was no more. 



I mention one example more. 

The worst I've seen on Time's dark shore ; 

'Twas one who slighted Mercy's cup, 

And by the Spirit was given up, 

I saw him on his dying day. 



166 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

When earthly hopes had flown away ; 
His future plans were tumbling down, 
And nature all on him did frown. 
The sky grew dark and wrathful, too, 
While lightnings burned with fiery hue; 
The thunders bellowed loud and long, 
And angry winds took up the song. 
This poor, lost man tried hard to pray. 
And from the devil tear away; 
He called good men to pray and fast. 
But all the heavens seemed as brass. 
The pow'rs of hell did so prevail. 
They thought they heard the demons wail; 
His awful groans and fiendish shrieks 
Made e'en those men new quarters seek ; 
Infernal darkness filled the room ; 
Oh, awful pledge of coming doom ! 
And thus, with woe too deep to tell, 
And anguish deeper e'en than hell, 
He shrieked and howled and died. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 
HOW TO DISTRIBUTE TRACTS 

There is hardly a more successful way in the 
world of preaching the gospel than that of distri- 
buting tracts; and yet, for lack of wisdom on the 
part of those who distribute them, nearly two-thirds 
of these printed messages are thrown away unread. 
Solomon said, "He that winneth souls is wise." 
Now, my purpose in presenting this little article, is 
to offer a few suggestions on how to successfully dis- 
tribute tracts. 

1. In selecting them for street work, we should 
always get the kind with hold type and brief mes- 
sages, for these are days when almost every one is in 
a hurry; therefore, they will not take the time to 
read a long tract. If you hand out a tract of two or 
more pages, at first sight, the very length of it will 
invariably discourage a busy man from reading it; 
and the probability is, ninety-five out of every hun- 
dred will throw it away, without even reading the 
title. It is perfectly right to distribute such tracts 
in homes, and also place them in private letters, but 
to distribute them on the streets and highways is 
time and money thrown away. 

2. It is also unwise to distribute broadcast that 
class of tracts which treats especially upon the fol- 
lowing subjects: Secret societies, labor-unions, the 
dress question, tithing and holiness. These are ex- 

167 



168 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

cellent themes, and have a prominent place in the 
tract world, and besides will accomplish much good, 
provided we have enough divine wisdom and common 
sense to know when and where to give them out. If 
we gave them to the unconverted, it would be de- 
livering an untimely message. What would be the 
use of getting a sinner to dress plain unless he re- 
nounced his evil ways? What would be the use of 
stirring the devil in an unsaved man, about secret 
societies and labor-unions, before he was awakened 
on the more essential lines? It would be better to 
tell him of death, hell and the judgment, until he 
became awakened and exclaimed, '*What shall I do 
to be saved ?" That would be the proper time to tell 
him of these things ; and even then, it would not be 
well to tell him too many things. Souls are fre- 
quently choked to death (so to speak) at this point, 
by unwise workers giving them an overdose of light 
and truth. This class of tracts is most likely to pro- 
duce effectual results when distributed in religious 
communities and also at camp-meetings, conventions, 
missionary and union meetings. 

3. It is very imprudent to have the name of any 
church or denomination attached to tracts that are 
for general distribution. It is all right to place upon 
those to be locally distributed, the name and address 
of the church ; but to do it at large, will cause those 
who were not reared in your faith to discard your 
tract. Quite often the party or church advocating 
a theme, has quite a good deal to do with its affects 
upon others. For instance, if a Catholic should be 
given a tract bearing the name ^'Methodist" or ''Bap- 



HOW TO DISTRIBUTE TRACTS 169 

tist" church, he, most likely, as soon as he observed 
the name, would throw it away unread. 

4. Those workers who devote several hours ex- 
clusively to tract distributing, should lay aside their 
ministerial or missionary attire for that special day. 
I do not mean by this, that they should conform to 
the world in dress ; but I do mean, that they should 
not have the appearance of a missionary when en- 
gaged in this special phase of religious work. A mis- 
sionary's garb would, no doubt, cause fifty per cent of 
the people to refuse to accept the printed message. 
They, judging from the worker's appearance, would 
conclude, of course, that it was something which 
treated on the subject of religion; whereas, if the 
worker was not dressed as a missionary, the people 
would not know" what was being given out until they 
had read, at least, a portion of it. Paul said, '^Being 
CRAFTY, I caught you with guile" (2 Cor. 12:16). 
Ministerial and missionary garbs are excellent and 
should be worn by all religious workers, at the 
proper time and place ; but not when they are going 
out for the specific purpose of distributing tracts. 
An ordinarily dressed person can go through a street- 
or railroad-car and succeed in giving a tract to 
nearly every one thereon; whereas, if he wore a 
missionary's garb, he would not succeed in giving 
out half so many, for the passengers would instantly 
suspect that it was something on the subject of re- 
ligion; the pride in their hearts would make them 
ashamed to accept the printed message. The more 
secretly we can give a person a tract, the more likely 
he is to read it. 



170 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

5. We are never to hand out tracts in a thought- 
less and at random way, but prayerfully, seriously 
and discreetly. If we live in the Spirit, He will 
always prompt us when and where to give them out, 
and thus save us from casting our pearls before swine 
or wasting the precious seed. 



CHAPTEE XXXVTII 

HINTS TO GOSPEL WORKERS 

1. Always respond promptly to the dining-room 
bell. Carelessness here frequently causes those who 
serve to be late to meeting, and besides, sometimes 
becomes quite a trial. 

2. Be careful not to throw waste paper, fruit 
rinds or peanut hulls upon the floor where you are 
stopping ; and do not disarrange things in the room, 
but keep them neat and orderly. Lady workers 
should always care for their own rooms. 

3. Do not allow yourself to become inquisitive 
about other people's private affairs. Often before 
workers have been in a home twelve hours, they have 
inquired into things from a to z — "When the man 
and his wife were married;'' "Where they were 
born ;" "How old they are ;" "Whether the farm was 
clear of debt or not ;" and so on. All such questions 
are entirely out of place and should be avoided. 

4. When invited to dine, never ask for anything 
that you do not see on the table. What is more em- 
barrassing to a housewife than for the guest to ask 
for something which she happens not to have? 

5. When at the table, be sure to keep your likes 
and dislikes to yourself. If you do not drink tea 
or coffee or eat pork, you need not tell the people 
so; just go ahead and eat what you can, and leave 
the other things for those who like them. 

171 



172 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

6. Do not pray too loud or too long at the family 
altar, and do not exhort until the breakfast is cold. 
Be quick and to the point. 

7. Always avoid being burdensome to the people 
with whom you are stopping ; also beware of talking 
too much. We have had workers in our home who 
did not seem to know when to stop talking. 

8. Beware of having too much to say to the un- 
saved members of the family on the subject of re- 
ligion. It is very unwise to speak too frequently to 
people on this subject. It has a tendency to harden 
them. Sinners are frequently incensed against the 
way of the Lord, simply because some unwise worker 
constantly nagged them with the subject. 

9. Do not leave your suit cases in the front hall 
or parlor, and do not lay your wraps on the couch 
or chairs. 

10. Do not soil or wrinkle the bedspread, and 
do not leave the gas or electric light burning all 
night. 

11. If you arise to pray during the night, pray 
to yourself in secret, and do not awaken every one 
with a loud, long prayer. 

12. Avoid sitting upon the edge of the bed, also 
putting your feet upon the chairs. They are not the 
place to polish your shoes. 

13. Be very careful to wipe the mud from your 
feet when entering the house. 

14. Be sure to keep out of the kitchen. No 
housewife likes to have a preacher sitting around 
the kitchen. 

15. Beware of jesting and becoming common 



HINTS TO GOSPEL WORKERS 173 

with the members of the family where you are stop- 
ping. Such conduct has killed many a one's in- 
fluence. 

16. Beware of getting into arguments or dis- 
cussing politics with those with whom you are stop- 
ping. Your chief and only business is to save souls. 

17. If any of your unsaved neighbors should call 
on you, do not begin to talk on the subject of religion 
the first thing. Also carefully avoid all insinuating 
remarks, and deal with them tenderly and wisely. 

18. Endeavor to be kind and friendly toward 
the children where you are stopping. On the other 
hand, be careful not to influence them to violate any 
of the rules of the home. Company usually spoils 
small children and babies. 

19. Above all other things, beware of giving 
way to the spirit of begging and soliciting money, 
household goods, vegetables, fruit, quilt-pieces and 
such things for yourself. So many workers have 
unwisely hurt themselves at this point. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 
HOW TO INSTRUCT SEEKERS 

We have before us, in this chapter, the most im- 
portant phase of gospel work, namely, altar service. 
No doubt, hundreds of earnest souls have been side- 
tracked at this particular point. The preaching may 
have been straight and doctrinal, but the defect was 
in the instructions received at the altar. This sad 
state of affairs is true not only at popular revivals, 
but also at some meetings conducted by the more 
pious people. Therefore, for this reason, I here sub- 
mit the following suggestions for the earnest con- 
sideration of those who labor in the vineyard of the 
Master : 

1. The first thing workers should do after a 
seeker reaches the altar, is to find out where he is 
spiritually, and what he came forward to seek; for 
quite frequently, a person who is backslidden, or 
who has never been converted, comes forward as a 
candidate for sanctification. Hence, what he re- 
ceives and brands as ^'holiness,' is nothing more than 
conversion or reclamation. The altar is the proper 
place to set a person right on these lines ; if he passes 
this station and is wrong, the chances are, he will 
always be wrong. 

2. The second thing he should be exhorted to do, 
is to lift up his head and pray out boldly to God. By 
so doing, his conviction will deepen, his desire will 

174 



HOW TO INSTRUCT SEEKERS 175 

be intensified and the spirit of prayer will fall upon 
both seeker and worker. On the other hand, if he 
comes to the altar and buries his face in his handker- 
chief, the conviction will lift, the spirit of prayer 
will leave, and a dumb spirit will take possession of 
the entire service. 

3. It is not well for too many workers to talk 
to the seeker at the same time, one telling him to 
'^surrender/' and another to ^'helieve/^ while another 
exhorts him to ^'confess," and still another exhorts 
him to ''claim it/' Such conduct has confused and 
discouraged many an honest soul. 

4. We have also found it a greater hindrance 
than help, to speak to a seeker about dress when he 
has received no light upon the subject. It is so 
new and strange to him, that it entirely upsets him 
before he has prayed through. 

5. Again, we sometimes make a great mistake 
by keeping a seeker at the altar too long. When we 
notice that the spirit of prayer is being lifted, we 
should let him retire. When an altar service is pro- 
longed after the spirit of prayer has lifted, it gen- 
erally results in one of two things. The seeker will 
either grow tired and disgusted, and never come to 
the altar again, or else the workers, because they 
are tired and faint, will persuade him into a dry- 
eyed profession of religion without any witness of 
the Spirit. 

6. Still another way of confusing and hindering 
a soul at the altar, is for workers to jerk and pull 
him around. Of course, this may sometimes be per- 
missible, when some individual worker is burdened 



176 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

for them, and feels prompted by the Spirit; other- 
wise, it is exceedingly hurtful. 

7. The victory has been lost at many an altar 
service through the workers losing interest and visit- 
ing with different ones in the audience. 

8. To sing an appropriate song occasionally 
during an altar service, to stimulate the faith of the 
seeker, is perfectly right, but to do so too frequently 
drives away the spirit of prayer. We must ever bear 
this thought in mind — we can not sing souls through, 
but must pray them through. 

9. It is very, very unkind, as well as unwise, for 
a worker to reveal a secret entrusted to his care by a 
seeker at the altar. There is nothing that will more 
quickly destroy confidence and breed contempt. 

10. Every worker should strictly avoid manifest- 
ing the least degree of partiality when laboring with 
a soul at the altar. He should manifest the same 
degree of interest in the sons and daughters of others 
that he does in his own. To do otherwise, evidences 
the fact that he needs to get saved himself. 

11. It is also very imprudent for workers to con- 
tradict or cross-fire each other in the presence of seek- 
ers. It has a tendency to destroy the seeker's confi- 
dence in both persons. 

12. No one should be allowed to work around 
the altar whose life is not upright and circumspect 
before God and man; if such a worker is not right 
with God, it will destroy the influence of every good 
man and woman in the meeting. 

13. Workers should also avoid taking hold of, or 
holding up the hands of a person of the opposite sex. 



HOW TO INSTRUCT SEEKERS 177 

Such conduct is hurtful and has, no doubt, paved the 
way to ruin for many a soul. 

14. It is very imprudent for workers to have 
frequent private interviews with a seeker of the op- 
posite sex. For the lack of proper precaution here, 
many preachers have crippled their influence and 
grieved God. 

15. Confessions that are of a delicate nature 
should be made to persons of the same sex. Thou- 
sands have been led into sin and shame through 
^'Itching Ear Gate/' 



CHAPTER XL 

THE URIM AND THUMMIM 

"And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the 
Urim and Thummim" (Exod. 28:30). 

There are various ideas among the Jewish doctors 
as to what these were. ''Some say that the Urim and 
Thummim were two little golden figures, which were 
shut up in the breastplate of the priest, as in a purse, 
and which answered, with an articulate voice, to all 
such questions as were put to them by the priest. 
Whether this be true or not, they were singular pieces 
of divine workmanship, however, which the high 
priest was obliged to wear upon solemn occasions, as 
one of the conditions upon which God engaged to 
give him answers." 

The Urim and Thummim were instruments pro- 
vided by the Lord through which to give the priest 
a clear J unmistahable answer on short notice. 

We are glad to say to the reader, that where God 
has done away with the ancient Urim and Thummim, 
He has also provided a more perfect method whereby 
we may all (since we are all priests [1 Pet. 2:9]) ob- 
tain a clear, unmistakaMe answer on short notice , at 
any time of the day. It is the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
John 16 : 13. We are sorry to say, however, that 
there are only a few of God's people who accept this 
wonderful Guide. Quite frequently we meet those 
who are undecided and perplexed as to whether God 

178 



URIM AND THUMMIM 179 

would have them go here or go there, do this or do 
that. They spend much of their time in changing 
and retracing their steps, hence, by the time they do 
find out what the will of God is, the opportunity is 
lost and the game is gone. 

Let us more narrowly observe the Urim and 
Thummim and notice how they had to be operated 
and also how the priest had to conduct himself to 
obtain a clear, unmistakable answer from God; for 
the conditions which brought an immediate reply in 
those days will bring it to-day. 

1. The Urim and Thummim were only to be worn 
by the high priest, that is, by the supposed holiest 
man in the world — one who walked in all the com- 
mandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. 
Luke 1 : 6. Notice ! It requires just such a holy 
soul to-day to obtain immediate answers from God. 
This, of course, is the privilege of all Christians; 
therefore, it is high time they are awaking to this 
fact; for if they lived in the Spirit as they should, 
they would not have to pray over a matter two or 
three days to find out God's will, but would receive 
a clear J unmistakahle answer in five minutes. "And 
it shall come to pass, that before the^^ call, I will an- 
swer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear" 
(Isa. 65:24). The blessed Holy Spirit enters into 
such union with wholly sanctified souls and gives 
them such a clear revelation of God's will, that they 
almost know what He likes and dislikes before ask- 
ing Him. Their perceptive powers are so keen, that, 
like the bloodhound, they can scent God's will on the 
coldest track and under the most confusing circum- 



180 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

stance. They are also like the medium, who lives in 
such close touch with the underworld that she can 
obtain communication with satan in a moment of 
time. 

2. The Urim and Thummim are to be worn upon 
the heart of the priest. God never did and never will 
accept half-hearted service. Notwithstanding this 
being true, there are professed Christians in the 
church to-day who no more have the work of God at 
heart than the cattle that graze in the field. Eeader, 
be honest, have vou the work of God at heart? Do 
you take the same interest in it that you do in your 
family and business affairs ? Show me a person with 
a white motive and a single eye to the glory of God, 
and I will show you one under the same hat who 
can send up a prayer and receive an answer in the 
same moment. Isa. 65:24. If you are not living at 
this place, reader, it is no marvel that it takes you 
several days to get your prayers through and to pull 
down fire from heaven. 

3. When the Urim and Thummim were to be con- 
sulted, the high priest stood in the holy place with 
his face towards the ark of the covenant. The 
thought suggested here, is he had to get his eyes off 
everything else and fix them wholly upon God. 
So is it to-day, if we would live where we have con- 
stant communion with God, we, too, must get our 
eyes off public opinion, honor, fame, popularity, 
wealth and every created thing and fix them upon 
Jesus only, A soul who thus fixes his gaze upon the 
Son of God, can see His face on the darkest night, 
hear His still, small voice in the loudest storm, and 



URIM AND THUMMIM 181 

sing the doxology in the fiery furnace. Oh, hallelu- 
jah to the Lamb! 

4. We are told by one writer that the Lord some- 
times answered the high priest by shedding a pe- 
culiar light upon the twelve stones set in his breast- 
plate. If the answer was "yes," the light reflected 
one color; and if it was "no," it reflected another. 
The spiritual application is this : When a soul is in 
perfect tune with the Holy Ghost, the Spirit plays 
upon the souPs spiritual sensibilities and inner con- 
sciousness and causes it to feel the surrounding con- 
ditions and circumstances just the way He feels 
them. This is what Jesus meant when He said, 
"Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound 
in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth 
shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:19), namely, 
whatsoever the Holy Ghost prompts you to counte- 
nance and indorse on earth is likewise indorsed in 
heaven. If we are thus in tune with the Holy Ghost, 
when we bring a matter to Him for decision, and the 
thing has His approval. He immediately stretches 
forth His sceptre and makes us feel light-hearted 
and restful, and we also have a sense of gladness ; on 
the other hand, if what we are praying about does 
not meet with His approval. He causes us to feel in- 
wardly 'burdened, perplexed and uneasy. This, of 
course, means "no," while the other condition means 
"yes." Those who thus live in touch with the Holy 
Spirit do not have to travel in a wrong direction for 
weeks and months before discovering that they are 
out of divine order. What man is he who, accustomed 
to having the machinery of his soul run smoothly, 



182 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

is too dull to realize in an instant when it clogs up 
or when his spiritual sun goes into eclipse ? He may 
cling to a empty profession and deceive others, but 
he can not deceive his own heart. 

5. The high priest was not to consult the Urim 
and Thummim except on solemn occasions, and not 
for trifling matters. The spiritual lesson taught here 
is this : In directing our prayers to God they must 
be void of all insincerity and vain repetitions. There 
are a number of persons who simply pray because 
they are requested to, but who do not pray from the 
heart. This class do not expect any answer, and 
should one be received they would be utterly sur- 
prised. They do not seriously weigh matters or 
carefully direct their words but thoughtlessly rattle 
out whatever comes to mind. When we engage in 
prayer, we should carefully and seriously take aim 
like a man preparing to shoot a rifle, and by so doing 
we will hit the mark every time. 

6. Lastly. The priest, when preparing to con- 
sult the Urim and Thummim, had to be careful to put 
on all of his uniform. In other words, he had to 
technically comply with all the rules involved in that 
ceremony. Too many times we fail to achieve victory 
and hear from God, because of slackness in comply- 
ing with the conditions laid down in God's blessed 
old Bible. We are far from being as technical in 
conversation, in paying tithes, in observing the Sab- 
bath and in our devotion, as were the ancient Jews. 
We take too many things as "a matter of course." 
The ancient Jew, when expecting a great blessing 
and divine visitation, found it necessary to make 



URIM AND THUMMIM 183 

some special preparation in the way of washing his 
clothing, bathing his person, fasting, etc. But God's 
people, nowadays, think nothing of starting a revival 
or camp-meeting without even spending one day in 
fasting or a single night in importuning prayer. They 
are no longer careful to search the camp for sin, be- 
fore going to battle, nor careful to unload the brass- 
mounted hypocrite. What else can we expect but 
failure and dire defeat? An experience of many 
years has convinced the writer of the fact that when- 
ever there is an Achan in the camp, defeat is certain. 
Oh, brother, sister, let us be more technical in 
complying with the conditions laid down in the 
Bible ; for then, and not until then, will the primitive 
fire and power return to Zion ! Amen and amen ! 



CHAPTEE XLI 

TAKING THE LORD'S SUPPER UNWORTHILY 

"Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink 
this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body 
and blood of the Lord * * * For he that eateth and 
drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to him- 
self, not discerning the Lord's body" (1 Cor. 11: 27, 29). 

Since this passage deals with such a vital subject, 
and since it is also very explicit and clear, it will pay 
us, as eternity-bound travelers, to look into this mat- 
ter. 

The question, no doubt, arises in the mind of the 
reader, ''What constitutes taking the Lord's Supper 
in vain?" One way of doing this is to do it irrever- 
ently and insincerely. The apostle seemed to indicate 
in verse twenty-one that there were those who had 
been taking it after this manner. 

To take it when there is condemnation resting 
upon our heart, is another way (according to our 
judgment) of taking it unworthily. It is to be re- 
membered that a great deal of care is to be exercised 
right here, for sometimes when a soul is in heaviness 
through manifold temptations, the devil will try to 
make the soul believe it is under condemnation for 
sin. However, this can be quickly settled by reflect- 
ing, and by calling to mind the thought, that sin is 
a wilful transgression of a known law. In other 
words (generally speaking), no sin is committed 

184 



TAKING LORD'S SUPPER UNWORTHILY 185 

without the consent of the will. Therefore, if when 
tempted at this point, we can look over the field of 
past conduct, and can see no place where we have 
wilfully transgressed the law of God, we may take 
courage and go forward. 

A third way of taking it unworthily, is to do so 
when we are rejecting and hacking up on light. This 
does not mean honest, conscientious souls that see a 
great deal of new light ahead and that are pressing 
forward with all their might to measure up to the 
light, but it means those who are opposing and re- 
jecting the light they have already received. 

Yet another way of taking it unworthily, is to 
do so while cherishing ill will and malice towards 
some brother or sister. We are told in 1 John 3 : 15, 
^^Whosoever hateth his hrother is a murderer: and ye 
Jcnow that no murderer hath eternal life ahiding in 
him/' 

To take it with an unforgiving spirit, is also an- 
other way of taking it unworthily. "For if ye forgive 
men their trespasses^ your heavenly Father will also 
forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their tres- 
passes^ neither will your Father forgive your tres- 
passes'' (Matt. 6:14, 15). 

A final way of committing this awful crime and 
putting ourselves in line with lost souls, is to take 
the Lord's Supper while practising dishonesty or de- 
ceit of any kind. Let us all examine ourselves and 
see whether we be in the faith. 



CHAPTER XLII 

THE VALUE OF DREAMS 

"For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth 
it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep 
falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; Then he 
openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction. That 
He may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride 
from man" (Job 33:14-17). 

It will take nothing less than eternity to reveal 
to us the fact that God has made dreams a great 
blessing to the human family. The reader, no doubt, 
can now reflect upon and thank God for some dream 
or vision given in bygone days. 

We frankly admit that all dreams are not to be 
relied upon ; some are the result of a perplexed brain ; 
some arise from an overloaded stomach; and some 
come from satan. While this is true, yet we will 
all have to admit that there are some dreams that 
come direct from the Lord. Generally the dreams 
that are impressive and lasting are from Him. Let 
us hurriedly notice a few of the many ways in which 
God makes dreams a blessing to mankind. 

First. Through dreams He warns men of coming 
events. He warned the wise men not to return to 
Herod to inform him of the infant Jesus. He warned 
Joseph in a dream to flee into Egypt. 

Second. Through dreams He shows good men de- 
cay and decline in their religious experiences, with- 
out hurting their influence. At midnight, upon his 

186 



THE VALUE OF DREAMS 187 

pillow, many a man has heard a more impressive 
sermon than he could hear in any church, no matter 
where. Hundreds have received a greater reproof 
from God during their midnight slumber than from 
any priest or prophet that has ever lived. 

Third. Through dreams God also checks men, 
when pursuing a wrong course. ^'And God came to 
Laban the Syrian in a dream hy night, and said unto 
him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacoh either 
good or lad'' (Gen. 31: 24). 

Fourth. Through dreams and visions God some- 
times reveals the false pretender to his servants. 
^^And the Lord said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of 
Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; 
for he is sick * * * for it shall be, when she 
cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another 
woman'' (1 Kings 14: 5). 

Fifth. Through dreams God also gives men a 
foretaste of heaven and hell. Benjamin Abbott, be- 
fore he was saved, dreamed that he was in hell, and 
that he was being thrown into a lake of fire and brim- 
stone by a company of devils. Fletcher, when un- 
saved, dreamed that he was in hell forever. Others, 
while in their midnight slumber, have dreamed that 
they were in the paradise of the blessed. Jacob 
dreamed that he saw a ladder extending from earth 
to heaven, and that the angels were descending and 
ascending upon it. 

Sixth. Through dreams, sometimes, God gives 
people who are yet upon earth, a glimpse of the where- 
abouts of their departed loved ones — whether they 
be in heaven or hell. He gave Boyle a hurried glance 



188 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

of the whereabouts of his old chum Maxwell. He 
saw him in hell, borne along in incessant movement, 
mocked by the creations of his frenzied mind, as if 
intent on pursuing the headlong chase. "Stop, Har- 
ry, and rest a moment!" cried he. Scarcely had the 
words been breathed from his faltering lips, when 
his terror-stricken ear was stunned with a wild yell 
of agony, reechoed by ten thousand voices, "There 
is no rest in hell !'' 

There is no doubt about it, that God has surely 
made dreams and visions of the night some of the 
most powerful preachers the world has ever known. 



CHAPTER XLIII 
WHAT TO DO WHEN TEMPTED 

We have frequently noticed signs giving instruc- 
tions in what to do in cases of fire, sunstroke, snake- 
bites, fainting spells, etc. In this chapter we wish to 
give some instructions on what to do in seasons of 
temptation, for there is no one upon earth who is 
beyond temptation. However, there are times when 
we are more easily tempted than others. They are 
as follows; When we are sick and afflicted; when 
we are persecuted and misunderstood; when we are 
destitute of the necessities of life ; and when we are 
spiritually depressed. Notice a few things that it 
would be well to keep in mind. 

1. Do not think you are a backslider and on this 
account cast away your confidence. The Bible says, 
''There hath no temptation taken you hut such as is 
common to man: dut God is faithful, who will not 
suffer you to he tempted above that ye are able; but 
ivill with the temptation also make a way of escape , 
that ye may he able to bear it" (1 Cor. 10: 13). 

2. Beware of turning to eyes at this point, and 
of criticizing and finding fault with others. 

3. Take special time and care to answer every 
one gently, and in the Spirit. It is one of the easiest 
things in the world to speak sharply and quickly, 
when we are tempted and pressed. 

4. Never carry out a resolution that is formed 

189 



190 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

when you are tempted or under pressure. Always 
wait until you get your bearings; if not, you may 
have to do some back-tracking and apologizing. 

5. Do not think that God is not with you because 
you are spiritually pressed and are having a hard 
pull. He says, '^I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
theeJ' What godly man has ever lived who did not 
at some point have a hard pull ? Paul said, bonds and 
afflictions awaited him in every city. 

6. Eemember, the darkest night is followed by a 
bright morn ; and the most violent storm, by a calm. 
The Word says, "We shall reap, if we faint not." 

7. Eemember, Esau's foolish decision when un- 
dergoing temptation. The Word says, ''He found no 
place of repentance, though he sought it carefully 
with tears." 

8. When you are grievously tempted over the 
faults and shortcomings of others, remember also 
that you have many that have to be borne with. 

9. In the hour of temptation, always be careful 
to talk little and pray much. The prophet, when 
speaking of Jesus, said, "He was oppressed, and He 
was afflictedj yet he opened not His mouth/' 



CHAPTEE XLIV 
HOW TO FAST TO THE BEST ADVANTAGE 

We frankly admit that the above mentioned 
means of grace has been greatly abused by cranks, 
fanatics and extremists. Notwithstanding that fact, 
it has been a means through which God has conveyed 
great blessings upon His people in every age of the 
church. Moses fasted, Elijah fasted, Nehemiah 
fasted, Daniel fasted, Jesus fasted, and all the saints 
in every age fasted. Jesus said, some devil went not 
out but by prayer and fasting. Mr. Wesley said, "A 
man who never fasted was no more on the way to 
heaven than one who never prayed." 

Now, for the benefit of God-fearing, conscientious 
souls, I herewith give a few hints on how to fast to 
the best advantage. 

1. As far as possible, devote one certain day of 
the week for this pious employment, whichever one 
that would be the most convenient. 

2. What we mean by the word ^^fasting,'' in this 
sense, is total abstinence, namely, eating no food nor 
drinking any water until your fast is ended. 

3. As far as possible, it should be done in secret. 
We should not tell it broadcast, but do it privately ; 
God will then reward us openly. 

4. When fasting, we should arrange our toilet 
just the same as usual by washing our face, combing 
our hair, cleaning our teeth, etc. We should, by all 

191 



192 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

means, keep our teeth clean and our breath from be- 
ing offensive to those around us. 

5. If in the morning you intend to fast until 
midday or evening, and if in the meantime you see 
food, become hungry and break your fast, remember 
that you have not sinned, but that you will not reap 
any benefit from that fast. You have yielded to the 
tempter to that extent, and lost the victory you might 
have won. 

6. On your fast day you should refrain from 
talking any more than is absolutely necessary. Do 
not mistake my meaning and think that you are not 
to go to your employment. You are to work just 
the same as on any other day. To stay home and lie 
in bed, would be to take away part of the cross from 
the fast. 

7. God may sometimes lay it upon your heart 
to fast two or three days ; if so, you will have to go 
through with it. You can not get around it and keep 
blessed. The difficulty in undergoing a long fast, is 
to get through the first and second day. 

8. When breaking a long fast, one should be very 
careful not to eat too heavily. Milk and crackers or 
soup and crackers or some other light diet, are suffi- 
cient for the first meal. 

9. When absent from home or going on a long 
journey, it might be wise to defer fasting until you 
return home. We should be careful and not get in 
bondage or under a strain. We should not consider 
ourselves backsliders because we are too busy or feel 
too feeble in our bodies to keep the fast day. 

10. It is not using good judgment to try to fast 



HOW TO FAST TO THE BEST ADVANTAGE 193 

on Sunday. It puts one under too great a strain, and 
handicaps one for the services. 

11. It is a very unwise thing to mince or partly 
fast every day. This sort of conduct has caused many 
a good worker to break down with stomach trouble. 
When we are fasting we should fasty and when we 
are eating we should eat. 

12. Experience has long since taught the writer 
that to take a heavy preaching service on an empty 
stomach, did him more harm than good. It is all right 
to fast before the service, but it is better to eat some- 
thing light before entering the pulpit. God will 
assist us just as much in delivering the message, if 
not more. At times, we have found ourselves so 
faint in the pulpit, while undergoing a fast, that we 
were almost exhausted before we delivered God's mes- 
sage. 

O Lord, give us sufficient wisdom to know how to 
serve thee to the best advantage ! 



CHAPTER XLV 

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE OPEN-AIR MEETING 

A street meeting is one of the best ways of getting 
the gospel to the unsaved that we know; yet we 
have seen many an unwise thing done in it by over- 
zealous workers. For this reason, therefore, we offer 
the following suggestions : 

1. Every worker should be so prayed up before 
going to the meeting that there will be no need of 
prefacing the meeting with a long prayer service. 
One prayer is suflScient. 

2. It is not wise for every one who speaks to ex- 
hort. One or two red-hot exhortations are a great 
plenty. Let the other workers give a clear-cut, defi- 
nite testimony. Often this will accomplish more 
than a sermon. 

3. Do not testify in open-air meetings on the sub- 
ject of dress, tithing and other things which will 
confuse the minds of the hearers, but in all cases aim 
to adapt your testimony to the class of hearers pres- 
ent. 

4. We have not only discovered the fact that it 
was unwise to denounce churches in the open-air 
meeting, but have also found that it was very hurtful. 
It often closes the people's ears to our after-message, 
and besides fills their hearts with prejudice. 

5. It is generally not the best thing for one per- 
son to talk too long. One's messages should be quick 

194 



SUGGESTIONS FOR THE OPEN-AIR MEETING 195 

and to the point ; a long, dry talk drives away listen- 
ers. 

6. It is not wise to permit strangers to take an 
active part in such meetings. We once did this in 
a Sunday evening open-air meeting, and after the 
stranger had finished testifying and exhorting, we 
discovered that he had been peddling fish all the fore- 
noon. 

7. There is nothing wrong in lifting an offering 
in such meetings, yet it is not always the best thing. 
If it is done, it should be conducted with prudence 
and great precaution. 

8. In giving an exhortation in the open-air, great 
precaution should be used in not mentioning the 
name of any church, denomination or nationality of 
people. It is likely to stir up strife and confusion. 

9. It is not wise to hobby-ride any one text or 
passage of scripture. We knew a brother, who, near- 
ly every time he testified in a street meeting, quoted 
Matt. 1 : 21, namely, "And she shall 'bring forth a Son^ 
and thou shalt call His name Jesus: For He shall 
save His people from their sins." The theme, ^'living 
without sin," is all right, but we should not hobby- 
ride it every time we testify. 

10. It diverts the attention of the people for 
workers, while the meeting is in session, to pass out 
tracts to the immediate bystanders. It prevents them 
from catching what is being said by the speaker. By 
no means should tracts be distributed to the imme- 
diate bystanders until after the meeting has been 
dismissed. 



CHAPTEK XLVI 
HOW TO GET TO CHURCH ON TIME 

We have met but few persons who are strictly 
conscientious about getting to church on time. The 
majority of them are from ten to thirty minutes late 
almost the entire year. 

We have watched some of the large department 
stores and factories where thousands are at work. 
As a whole, those employed are not an hour late in 
six months; but when it comes to attending church 
on Sunday, ninety per cent of these very same per- 
sons are from ten to thirty minutes late nearly every 
Lord's day. This ought not to be. 

In the following lines we shall attempt to offer a 
few suggestions on how to get to church in time on 
the Lord's day. 

First. As far as possible, do all that can be done 
on Saturday, namely, polishing shoes, bathing, shav- 
ing, brushing the clothing, sweeping and dusting, lay- 
ing the fire, and setting the table. 

Second. Cook and prepare that class of food on 
Saturday that can be easily warmed and served on 
Sunday. Get out the Sunday clothing for yourself 
and children so that it can be easily put on after 
breakfast. 

Third. Do not lie in bed any longer on Sunday 
morning than you do week days, but get up and get 
the breakfast out of the way so that you can dress 

196 



HOW TO GET TO CHURCH ON TIME 197 

yourself and the children and get to church at least 
five or ten minutes before the service begins. 

Fourth. Unless it is strictly necessary, do not 
try to wash the dishes on Sunday. Of course, the fol- 
lowing out of this suggestion depends on circum- 
stances. 

Fifth. If you have company, do not stain your 
conscience nor grieve God by staying away from 
church to cook and to entertain, but take them with 
you to the service; if they decline, you can politely 
excuse yourself and go to meeting. So many pious 
people have dried up in their souls by staying away 
from church to entertain worldly friends. 

Sixth. Our advice is, move as near to the churchy 
as is possible, so that you will not have to ride on the 
cars on Sunday. Riding on the street-cars on Sunday 
mars a good conscience. 

Seventh. It is quite unfair for husband to dress 
himself and then sit down, or walk off to church and 
leave wife with three or four children to get ready. 
This is surely one place where the exhortation, ^'Bear 
ye one another's hurdens/' should have a prominent 
place. 



OHAPTEE XLVII 

AARON'S ROD 

"And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I 
shall choose, shall blossom * * * And Moses laid up 
the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. And 
it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the 
tabernacle of witness ; and, behold, the rod of Aaron * * * 
was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, 
and yielded almonds" (Num. 17:5, 7, 8). 

The Bible is a wonderful book from the fact that 
it contains something that fits every phase of Chris- 
tian life. In the lesson before us, there seems to 
have arisen a dispute among some of the workers as 
to which of them were divinely appointed or chosen 
for that specific work. As the matter was of too 
great importance for Moses to decide, the Lord took it 
in hand and settled it as narrated above. 

If men, to-day, were put to a divine test and laid 
on the shelf a few months, in the tabernacle of wit- 
ness, before they were licensed and were pushed out 
into the ministry, the pulpits of our country would 
not contain so many skeptics, so many infidels and 
so many men not called of God. No person should 
be admitted into the ministry who has not received a 
clear, definite call. To-day, in the ministry, are hun- 
dreds who are in it for the loaves and fishes, and who 
are no more called to preach the gospel than they are 
called to create worlds. 

Let us direct our attention for a few moments to 

198 



AARON'S ROD 199 



the budded rod, and take notice of the similarity ex- 
isting between it and a God-called man or woman. 
Eemember, the proof was not, which was the longest, 
straightest, or smoothest rod, but the proof was^ 
which bore the indisputable, supernatural mark. It 
is not sufficient evidence that a man is not called of 
God to preach the gospel, simply because his manner 
is rude and uncultured, or his literary attainments 
ordinary. One may be in possession of all of these 
things, and yet not be called of God. Notice how 
verse eight reads : "And it came to pass, that on the 
morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; 
and, behold, the rod of Aaron * * * ^as budded, 
and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and 
yielded almonds" (Num. 17:8). This gives a brief 
outline of the Three divine earmarks that every God- 
called preacher should bear. Observe them in order. 
First. "The rod budded/' Buds are sometimes 
used to symbolize life; hence, it will do no violence 
to use them here as such. A small bud bears a greater 
mark of the character of God than a mountain, for 
the simple reason that it contains life. No matter 
how gifted or talented a man may be, if he has never 
been born of the Spirit, he is no more fit to preach 
the gospel than a statue. Nicodemus was highly ac- 
complished and influential, but was far from being 
acquainted with the new birth, namely, the divine life. 
All of the manufacturing establishments in the world 
can not make one grain of corn, neither can all the 
seminaries upon earth make one live preacher. The 
all essential is divine life. The preacher's sermons 
may be orthodox, logical and in perfect accord with 



200 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

the rules of homiletics, yet they will be as powerless 
to awaken sinners and edify believers as sawdust 
would be (when sown) to produce a crop of wheat. 
He must also be a recipient of this life to properly 
feed the flock of God and to keep a spiritual church. 
One of the present day curses is an overstock of life- 
less preachers who have no more power and unction 
to awaken souls than a hen has to hatch chicks from 
a batch of glass eggs. They are cursed with that 
^Htching palm'' disease; hence, their chief pursuit is 
the mighty dollar. The clink from the money-box is 
sweeter music in their ears than are the strains from 
an instrument of a thousand strings. Would to God 
they were routed ofif their feathered nests and sent 
to Texas to herd cattle or to Georgia to pick cotton. 
Such a transformation would, no doubt, cause joy in 
heaven, and grief and consternation in hell, besides 
hasten the coming of Jesus. Oh, this cursed brood of 
deceiving, religious cutthroats that are flooding the 
land like the locusts of Egypt! 

Second. ''The rod bloomed blossoms." This, of 
course, symbolizes God-given gifts and abilities. We 
have never yet seen a man or a woman whom God 
had called into the work, notwithstanding their lack 
of education, who were not in possession of some 
marked, God-given talent and ability that made them 
soul-winners everywhere. Sometimes it was the gift 
of faith, sometimes the gift of discernment, some- 
times the gift of prayer, the gift of song, the gift of 
personal work or the gift of persuasion. God never 
sends out His soldiers unqualified, but makes them 
^^Equal to angels, astonishing to men, and mighty to 



AARON'S ROD 201 



devils." This is what he did for the disciples and 
also for thousands of others throughout the civilized 
world. 

Third. ^^The rod yielded almonds^' (fruit). The 
surest proof that a man is called to preach the gospel, 
is in the fact that he is successful, not only in raising 
money and building churches, but also in getting sin- 
ners converted and believers sanctified wholly. There 
is no greater proof. If he is barren here, we are 
forced to believe that he has missed his calling. 



OHAPTEE XLVIII 

THE STATE OF AN EXTREMELY SPIRITUAL MAN 

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day" (Rev. 1:10). 

To casual readers the above text seems to infer 
that the apostle simply felt a measure of the Spirit 
of God, but to reflective and spiritual readers it 
carries the following thought : "I was overwhelmed 
with the Spirit.'^ There are but few people now- 
adays who live where they are frequently over- 
whelmed with the Holy Ghost. They think them- 
selves doing remarkably well to receive a small 
shower of blessing at camp-meetings and revivals; 
but, dear ones, it is the privilege of every child of God 
to live where he is frequently overwhelmed with the 
power and presence of the Holy Ghost. 

Reader, how many times in the history of your 
Christian experience have you received an old-fash- 
ioned overpowering or drenching blessing of the 
Holy Ghost ? If this is not a frequent occurrence in 
your life, you are not only living beneath your privi- 
lege, but you are also sadly lacking somewhere in 
your Christian experience. 

In ancient times, it was a common occurrence, 
both among the Methodists and Baptists, for scores 
to lie upon the floor, overcome by the power of the 
Holy Ghost, while others shouted and screamed, 
being almost blessed to death, so to speak. 

Nowadays, when people see a soul frequently 

202 



STATE OF AN EXTREMELY SPIRITUAL MAN 203 

overpowered with the Holy Ghost, they either brand 
him as a fanatic or form the opinion that he is one 
of God's favorites, and that the blessings which he 
enjoys are not for every one. But if the whole truth 
were known, there is a line of self-denial and strict 
devotion underlying the life of that soul which sur- 
passes that of all of his brethren. St. John was a 
man of this type. He lived on piety's high hill where 
the choicest fruits abounded. It must be remem- 
bered that there are three stages or zones in the sanc- 
tified life: First. ^^Border-land/' namely, those just 
entering into the experience of the sanctified. They 
are as thoroughly cleansed and filled as any one ; but 
owing to their small degree of light and lack of de- 
velopment, they have not gone as far away from the 
border-land of Egypt as those more advanced in the 
divine life. 

The second stage is the '^Plains of Canaan/' This 
is the place where the generality of holiness people 
settle down. They are conscious of the fact, beyond 
a shadow of doubt, that their "old man" has been 
crucified, and they are in possession of the experience 
of entire holiness; therefore, they make themselves 
contented. They think they are doing remarkably 
well to keep the witness of the Spirit to their sancti- 
fication from one special meeting to another without 
having to go to the altar. 

The- third stage is the ^^ Highlands/' namely, Mt. 
Hebron — Caleb's inheritance. Josh. 14 : 14. 

I shall endeavor in the following lines, 1, to call 
the reader's attention to the spiritual zone that all 
sanctified people should reach, or in other words, 



204 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

the state of an extremely spiritual man. The first 
noticeable feature about this zone is the lofty height 
to which it lifts the soul. It brings it into a realm of 
unclouded day, where it never loses the inward wit 
ness, not for a single moment, during the remaining 
days of pilgrimage upon earth. Isa. 60 : 20. There 
are times when the soul undergoes temptations, trials 
and great pressure, but through them all it retains 
a clear, sky-blue witness to the experience of entire 
holiness. It is also to be admitted that while passing 
through the ^^ war fare'' period, namely, the '^Plains of 
Canaan/' the soul is often bereft of all feeling, and 
caused to ivalJc and fight by naked faith ; but the soul 
which, through much prayer and self-denial, presses 
its way to the highlands, reaches a clime where it 
never has a single cloud, and where the golden lamp 
of holiness burns in its sanctuary, day and night 
forever. 

2. The next high-class blessing the soul in- 
herits in this zone, is un-thought of fellowship with 
Jesus Christ. St. John had spent months and years 
in close contact with the Savior, but had never be- 
fore realized such fellowship and sweet communion 
as while thus in the Spirit. Jesus not only was life, 
but also infused new life, new hope and ineffable 
joy ; He not only was light but also was enlightened ; 
not only was glory but also was glorified; not only 
was power but also was impowered; not only was 
beauty, but also was beautified ; not only was immor- 
tal, but also was immortalized. Therefore, when a 
soul thus lives in the Spirit, it finds but little time 
for human companionship, creature consolation and 



STATE OF AN EXTREMELY SPIRITUAL MAN 205 

created things. It retains a fellowship with Jesus 
akin to that of angels. Oh, hallelujah to the Lamb ! 

3. In reaching the high plane, the soul contin- 
ually abides under the meridian blaze of perfect love. 
St. John was so filled and so thrilled with perfect 
love in the latter part of his experience that his 
watchword was "Love.^^ We notice while reading his 
short epistle of five chapters that he used the words 
^^love, loved and loveW forty-four times. He was so 
brimful of love that it seemed to escape with every 
breath. Many of God's dear children are made to 
stagger when reading the seemingly high standard of 
love set up by the Apostle Paul, in the thirteenth 
chapter of First Corinthians ; but to those who thus 
live in the Spirit, it is but the rudiments of love. The 
souls who live under the meridian blaze of perfect 
love not only are in possession of that degree of love 
which ''is not provoked, thinketh no evil * * * bear- 
eth all things, believeth all things and endureth all 
things," but also are so filled with the pure love of 
Jesus that they could cheerfully lay down their lives 
for the brethren, if necessary. 1 John 3 : 16. 

4. Still another benefit to the soul who thus 
lives in the Spirit, is that its faith and confidence in 
God become so steadfast that it never worries or feels 
an atom of anxious care regarding what it shall eat 
and wherewith it shall be clothed. It has reached 
the clime spoken of by the Son of God when He said, 
'Take no thought for your life,'' etc., consequently 
no worry, fret or uneasiness ever enters the realm in 
which it lives. The poet expresses its sentiment in 
the following lines: 



206 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

"What have I to dread, what have I to fear, 
Leaning on the everlasting arms? 

I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, 
Leaning on the everlasting arms !" 

5. This crystalline atmosphere also brings the 
soul into a state where it transmutes the most trying 
circumstances and darkest condition of life into sea- 
sons of praise and rejoicing. It has learned to say 
with holy Job, ''The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." It 
always says with the Prophet Habakkuk, "Although 
the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be 
in the vines ; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the 
fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off 
from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls ; 
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of 
my salvation" (Hab. 3: 17). 

6. Again, as the soul continues to abide in this 
ethereal clime, it receives for its reward the ^'Benja- 
min's Mess'' — anointing, namely, great grace^ extra- 
ordinary high-class unction^ power and glory. There- 
fore, it is no marvel that such a soul is frequently 
overwhelmed with the power and blessing of God. 
Neither should we be at all surprised that it prays 
and preaches with such mighty unction, or that its 
labor is attended with such marked success. 

I shall now proceed to give a few brief hints on 
how to reach this high spiritual plane: 

(a) Keep in perfect tune with heaven. We are 
all acquainted with what it means, during revival 
times, to pray into a place where we feel in perfect 
tune with God and the angels ; where our soul, body 



STATE OF AN EXTREMELY SPIRITUAL MAN 207 

and spirit are all aflame and our whole existence 
tingles with heavenly electricity. Notice, if it is pos- 
sible to pray into this blessed state during a revival, 
why is it not possible to continue therein every day 
of the year ? However, we are willing to admit that 
to do so requires no small amount of fasting, prayer 
and careful living. 

(b) By the grace of God and the assistance of 
the Holy Spirit, strive to bring your entire life into 
perfect conformity with that of the Son of God. Let 
your words, actions, and entire deportment be a copy 
of His. Do not be contented with simply bringing 
your external life into conformity with His, but see 
that no temper, passion, or propensity abides in your 
heart that was not in the heart of Jesus Christ. 

(c) Always live under the strictest care and dis- 
cipline of the Holy Spirit. It is true, at times. He 
may appear to be unreasonably strict with you and 
slack with others ; but do not give place to this temp- 
tation for a moment, for He is striving to lead you 
to higher planes. Therefore, never worry about the 
liberties or privileges of others, but keep your eyes 
upon Jesus and continue to closely follow and obey 
the Holy Spirit. 

(d) Never trifle with anything that is of a doubt- 
ful nature or that has ever brought a sense of heavi- 
ness or a shadow of condemnation upon your soul. 
"In all cases of doubt take the safe side.'' It is 
true you may be frequently criticized and called a 
fanatic ; nevertheless, keep true to every ray of light 
and conviction that you have ever received from God. 
It matters but little what men think and say about 



208 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

you, but it matters a great deal what God thinks 
about you. 

(e) Keep your affections free from every earthly 
entanglement. God's people are more lame at this 
point (no doubt) than at any other we could men- 
tion. It is to be borne in mind that husband, wife, 
children, and loved ones are God-sent blessings when 
kept in their places, but when they become rivals to 
God and vie with Him for our affections, they sever 
our heavenly connection and put the soul in bondage. 

"Nothing between my soul and the Savior, 
Naught of this world's delusive dream; 

I have renounced all sinful pleasure, 
Jesus is mine; there's nothing between. 

"Nothing between like pride or station, 
Self or friends shall not intervene; 

Tho' it may cost me much tribulation, 
T am resolved, there's nothing between." 

(f ) Never permit a harsh, cruel or unkind word 
to escape your lips, and never give way to a complain- 
ing, murmuring spirit; also keep a strict watch 
against all forms of scolding, loud talking, loud 
laughing, arguing and the use of many words in buy- 
ing or selling. All of these things are hindrances 
to the spiritual life and should be avoided. 

(g) Be punctual and regular in all phases of 
your devotion, strictly regarding the secret-prayer 
hour, the fast-day, the all night of prayer and the 
time for meditation and deep reading. The writer 
has learned, by sad experience, that all such neglect 
and slackness, even though they be accompanied by 



STATE OF AN EXTREMELY SPIRITUAL MAN 209 

a flimsy excuse, bring some loss and leanness to the 
soul. 

(h) Beware of tame religious meetings and su- 
perficial holiness literature. Hundreds of choice, 
holy souls have suffered great loss by not being care- 
ful at these points. These two phases of compro- 
mise are extremely hurtful to souls who possess high- 
class convictions, advance light, sublime aspirations 
and the ^'Peculiar Anointing/' 

Oh, where can we find a soul, in this age of com- 
promise, who will thus live in the Spirit? 



CHAPTEK XLIX 

A SOUL AT HEAVEN'S GATE 

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant * * * enter 
thou into the joy of thy lord" (Matt. 25; 21). 

Since the text is a brief form of the commenda- 
tion, congratulation and welcome received by re- 
deemed souls as they enter heaven, I want to talk 
about some of the things they will experience and 
realize on their arrival just inside the gates of pearl. 
No human tongue can tell, no pen delineate, and 
no finite mind conceive the joy and satisfaction 
felt by redeemed souls as they arrive at this point. 
There are many noted and remarkable places in this 
world, namely, battle-fields, birthplaces, death-beds 
and graveyards, but there is no place in all creation 
compared to this place. 

"It is a place where those who meet shall part no more, 
And those long parted meet again!" 

Now, in order that our faith may be strength- 
ened, our courage renewed, our love rekindled and 
our hope inspired, let us, in our imagination, place 
ourselves at this point. 

Let us first take a hurried glance at our meager, 
fever-scorched, disease-ridden frame as it lies upon 
a couch, with life and vitality rapidly ebbing away. 
At last, the appointed moment arrives when our 
long-imprisoned spirit is set free, and, as quick as 

210 



A SOUL AT HEAVEN'S GATE 211 

thought, leaps up to the city of fadeless day. Oh, 
wonderful thought! Let us next quietly listen to 
the souPs soft soliloquy as it stands, amazed, just in- 
side the gates of translucent pearl. 

"And am I, then, in heaven? Is this the land 
To which my yearning heart so often turn'd, 
Desirous? This the paradise of saints? 
And is it I, myself, who speaks? the same 
Who wandered in the desert far astray, 
Till the Good Shepherd found me perishing. 
And drew me to Himself with cords of love?" 

Let us briefly observe some of the joyous expe- 
riences and some of the things realized by the soul 
at this place. 

1. He, now, for the first time in all of his ex- 
perience, realizes that all conflict is forever passed, 
and the victory forever won. 

2. He next realizes that death's dark valley, 
death's chilly stream, death's goblin form and resist- 
less spear, are forever passed. The thought of dying, 
the peculiarity of death, and the mystery which inter- 
linked eternity and time have also vanished, and 
the soul is home at last. 

3. The next experience the soul will undergo at 
this point, will be the awakening from the sluniber 
of ignorance. He now understands more astronomy 
and science, in a second of time, than he could have 
learned on earth in a billion years. He now sees and 
understands the great God — "The Invisible, Incom- 
prehensible, Immortal One who made heaven and 
earth; who walks upon the wind; who holds the 
waves in the hollow of His hand; whom thunders 



212 FRAGMENTS FROM THE KING'S TABLE 

wait, whom tempests serve, whom flaming fires obey ; 
who guides the circuit of the endless years, and sits 
on high and makes creation's top His footstool.'* 
Not until now, did the soul fully realize what a stu- 
pendous sacrifice and condescension Jesus made in 
going to earth and dying for the human race. Now, 
all shadows have vanished, and he knows as he is 
known; all is clear. He fully realizes why God led 
him this way and that way; why He refused him 
this and that ; why He reproved him here and afflicted 
him there. He now realizes that it took all of this 
to get him to the glory land. 

4. Not until reaching this elevated point did he 
fully realize the necessity of "holinessJ' But on be- 
holding a holy God, holy angels, holy saints and a 
holy heaven, he realizes that it would have been ab- 
surd to think of entering such a place without being 
sanctified wholly. Heb. 12 : 14. He also awakens to 
the fact that holiness was absolutely necessary to 
qualify him for enjoying heaven. He now sees that 
if one should get into heaven without holiness, he 
would be like a blind man in an art gallery, a deaf 
man at a recital or a limbless man at a dance. 

5. His next new delight at this point, is drink- 
ing his first cup of unmixed joy. All of his previous 
joy has been mixed with small grains of suspense, 
fear, temptation, test and disappointment ; but now, 
on reaching this world of day, and after inhaling the 
buxom air that Jans the tree of life, he drinks his 
maiden cup of unadulterated joy. Second. He, at 
this point, experiences his first moments of cloudless 
bliss. The moment of his conversion was a grand 



A SOUL AT HEAVEN'S GATE 213 

one, and the moment when he was Ksanctified wholly 
was yet more glorious. He also had many happy 
hours in the service of the King, during his enamored 
walk with God. But all former glory fades and is 
swallowed up like starlight in the blaze of the sun. 
For, as he beholds the argent fields, the fadeless 
flowers, the gushing springs, the placid lakes, the 
evergreen trees, rich with ambrosial fruit, and also 
sees the billions of blood-washed saints by love's 
strong magnet drawn, he falls down prostrate on the 
gold-paved street, while torrents of waveless peace 
sweep over his soul. Oh, hallelujah! 

6. His next realization at the gates of pearl, is 
that trials, hardships and temptations were only in- 
struments used by the divine mechanic to tune, capac- 
itate and qualify the soul to fully enjoy heaven. 

7. His next stupendous discovery, is that his 
own soul was a finer musical instrument and con- 
tained more music than any other instrument he had 
ever beheld upon earth. However, it required the 
united praises of the saints, the vibrations and the 
melodious sounds of angelic harps, and also the light, 
sportive breezes of heaven to properly operate it. 

8. He finally realizes the fact that all the good 
desires, well wishes, holy intentions and dormant 
graces of his soul, have taken on new life, and, like 
rosebuds beneath the summer sun, were bursting out 
in amaranthine bloom. 



THE END 



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